Unknown Matthew Dellavedova Powers Cleveland Cavaliers to Series Win over Bulls

CHICAGO — Back in January, Matthew Dellavedova was all but unplayable. So much so that the Cleveland Cavaliers were, very publicly, looking around the trade and free-agent markets for point guard help behind Kyrie Irving.

“I remember that,” Dellavedova said Thursday night, after the game of his career. “I wasn’t playing as well as I would have liked.”

Nobody can say that now, not after the Australian point guard led the Cavs with 19 points to power a series-clinching, 94-73 blowout of the Chicago Bulls in Game 6 at the United Center Thursday, securing a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Dellavedova’s breakout effort couldn’t have come at a better time, and it couldn’t have come in more dire circumstances. Irving, who has been hobbled by foot and knee problems for most of the playoffs, limped to the locker room in the second quarter after landing awkwardly. Initially, the team listed him as probable to return. But when the second half started, it was Dellavedova playing point guard.

“Delly came in under extreme circumstances doing what he did, leading our team in scoring,” said LeBron James, who struggled from the field, shooting 7-of-23 (15 points). “Obviously he made shots, but it was what he did defensively.”

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Dellavedova’s impact on this series came to a head in the closeout game, but a more controversial play Tuesday in Game 5, in Cleveland, may have been the final nail in the coffin for the Bulls. Dellavedova locked up Bulls forward Taj Gibson’s leg while fighting for a loose ball, and Gibson was assessed a flagrant-2 foul and ejected for kicking his leg to get out of his grip.

In addition to the ejection, the foul call itself put Gibson in a position where he would face an automatic suspension for his next flagrant. In order to avoid it, he had to defend less physically on Thursday, and that had a ripple effect.

Dellavedova was largely unknown to the Bulls' fanbase before that crucial sequence, but the United Center crowd knew him as soon as he checked in Thursday, and they let him hear it.

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For his part, Dellavedova downplayed the reaction.

“I’ve played at Gonzaga and BYU,” said the St. Mary’s alum. “The boos there are a lot louder.”

That confidence is what makes Dellavedova a valuable player despite shooting nights like this one being few and far between. It’s also what endears him to his teammates and coaches.

“That’s one of those things where you’re talking to your kids or you’re talking to prospective players and you’re talking about character and what it does for you and what it means to have it," Cavs coach David Blatt said after the game. “You might as well just say 'Matthew Dellavedova.' He embodies all the good things you want to see in players and teammates.”

With Irving’s health unknown for the conference finals, the Cavs may need more of this from Dellavedova. Whether they play the Wizards or the Hawks in the second round, Dellavedova's pesky defense will be needed to slow down John Wall or Jeff Teague, two speedy, versatile point guards. He was able to capitalize on the defensive pressure the Bulls applied to James. The Bulls decided to make someone else beat them, and Dellavedova stepped up and did exactly that.

“They put so much attention on 'Bron, and you know he’s going to find you when you’re open,” Dellavedova said. “Obviously Kyrie was out for the second half, so I knew I was going to be out there. It’s easy to just let shots go when your teammates have that much confidence in you.”

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With all the Cavs’ injury woes, they thought they needed James to win them games single-handedly, to will them to victory with his unrivaled natural gifts as he has on countless occasions over his career. This time, he got help from an unlikely source.

“He’s not the most athletic, fastest, he doesn’t shoot it as great as the other point guys in the league. I’ll put him out there against anybody in the league,” said James of Dellavedova. “This guy has to guard Kyrie Irving every single day in practice.”

“Matty can play,” added Blatt. “He understands what his role is and where his opportunities are. He has no fear. He makes the right plays. He defends his man. Every moment that he’s on the court, he knows where the ball should go. That kid’s a competitor. He’s not where he is without being a competitor.”

For those efforts, after his signature game, Dellavedova had the honor of joining James and Tristan Thompson at the podium. The podium game is something of a rite of passage, something of which James and Irving have had many. Dellavedova had never pictured it before, at least not the specifics.

“This is all the extra fluff stuff,” he said. “What matters is what happens in the game. I’ve pictured myself making important plays in a game.”