‘Delly’ still in hearts of Cavs
Ex-teammates sing his praises
When November ends, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be at the top of the Eastern Conference, which is exactly where they were expected to be.
It’s fair to say that the loss of Matthew Dellavedova, who signed with the Milwaukee Bucks over the summer when the Cavaliers opted not to match the Bucks’ fouryear, $38 million offer sheet, has not made a noticeable negative impact for the reigning champions.
The standings may imply the Cavaliers don’t miss Dellavedova on the court, but that wasn’t the refrain coming out of the Cavs locker room Tuesday night. Rather, they miss the 6-foot-4 Australian point guard, who played solidly off the bench during three seasons in Cleveland and stepped up multiple times when all-star point guard Kyrie Irving was sidelined by injuries, including during the playoffs in 2015.
“We miss him on the second unit,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. “His leadership, the way he got people involved on that second unit and the way he ran the offense. He knew where everyone was on the floor one through five and where they were supposed to be.
“(We miss) his toughness. Every night you know what you’re going to get from Delly — he is going to compete, he’s going to play hard, he’s going to scrap. Teammates love him.”
That love was evident when the two teams took the court Tuesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
J.R. Smith sought out Dellavedova before the tip and enveloped him in an emphatic hug. Dellavedova then embraced Irving and exchanged a quick, pleasant greeting with LeBron James before reaching out to highfive Kevin Love, who instead grabbed Dellavedova’s hand and pulled him in for a bear hug.
After that, though, it was all business. Dellavedova struggled from the floor, going 1 for 5 with three points, but dished out seven assists and grabbed a pair of steals to help the Bucks in a 118101 rout of the Cavaliers.
“It was a little bit of a weird feeling to start with but once the ball is tipped it’s just basketball,” Dellavedova said. “It was good to get a win tonight.”
While he wasn’t on the court for the opening jump, Richard Jefferson is among the former teammates who has nothing but good things to say about Dellavedova. Jefferson, who joined the Cavaliers last season and often shared the court with Dellavedova in the second unit, extolled Dellavedova’s work ethic, saying, “if Delly worked 5% less he might not be in this league. But because he works 100% every day and he’s professional every day he’s had success.”
That success, which began in Cleveland, evolved into Dellavedova’s sizable contract and a chance to start in Milwaukee. Dellavedova’s opportunity to take on a larger role didn’t come as a surprise to any of his former Cavaliers teammates or coaches, who saw his potential firsthand over the past three seasons.