3 Cleveland Cavaliers Role Players Who Must Step Up During 2015 NBA Finals
While LeBron James has played at a superhuman level during the NBA playoffs' first three rounds, he's received large contributions from Cleveland Cavaliers role players as well.
Big games from little names have been a theme for the Cavs ever since Kevin Love tore a labrum against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of Round 1.
Shooting guard J.R. Smith, despite coming off the bench, was the Cavaliers' second-leading scorer in the Eastern Conference Finals with 18.0 points per game. Iman Shumpert (plus-13.5 in conference finals) has played excellent defense throughout the postseason, while Timofey Mozgov (10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks in 26.6 minutes) gave Atlanta problems on both ends of the floor.
While these three must continue their strong play in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, they can't be alone.
The following three must step up their play in the championship round for the Cavaliers to take home the franchise's first NBA title.
Matthew Dellavedova, G
The undrafted second-year guard from St. Mary's has received a bad rap as of late, but there's no denying his importance to Cleveland.
For one, he's Kyrie Irving's only true backup at point guard. When Irving had to miss two games against the Hawks due to knee tendinitis, Matthew Dellavedova stepped into the starting lineup.
Outside of James and Irving, he's the Cavaliers' only reliable ball-handler who can create shots for others on a consistent basis. James does so much for the Cavs already that they need to have people like Delly bring the ball up the court to give LeBron a rest.
After a breakout Game 6 against the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, when he dropped 19 points, Delly's offensive game has gone cold. Despite playing 30.9 minutes per game against the Hawks, Dellavedova averaged just 5.0 points and 2.5 assists.
While it's true that the Cavaliers don't expect much from him offensively, a 30.0 percent mark from the field and a 31.8 percent mark from deep were disappointing success rates, for sure.
His personal offense is based on giving up the ball and then finding a space on the court to spot up for three. Over half of Dellavedova's total shot attempts have come from the three-point line, both in the regular season and in the postseason. Playing alongside guys like James and Irving, his open opportunities will come. In the Finals, Dellavedova needs to climb back near the 40.7 percent clip he had from deep in the regular season.
What makes Delly a key figure against Golden State, however, is his defense.
Limited athletically, Dellavedova has become a good one-on-one defender due to his positioning, hustle and intensity. He always slides and keeps his arms out to help cut off dribble penetration while avoiding fouls. He's never afraid to take a charge, either.
With the Warriors' All-Star backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Dellavedova will be busy.
He'll likely draw a combination of both players on a nightly basis. Dellavedova matches up better on Curry, as he's similar in size and has been excellent guarding the three-point line as of late. Against the Hawks, opponents shot just 25.0 percent from deep and 21.7 percent outside of 15 feet with Dellavedova as the primary defender, per NBA.com.
While Delly is anything but a dirty player, his motor goes 100 percent all the time. He's not afraid to get physical with guys, even if it means diving for loose balls or picking up a hard foul every once in a while.
Dellavedova's relentless defensive pursuit of the Splash Brothers will be his most important attribute in the Finals.
Tristan Thompson, F/C
Is it possible that Tristan Thompson, previously unheard of in the common household, has now become a bit overrated?
Yes, but only by his own standards.
We've seen Thompson put up big numbers over the past two series, thanks to increased playing time filling in for Love. Since Cleveland inserted him as the starting power forward, Thompson is averaging 11.0 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in nine games.
So why does Thompson need to do more?
For one, these averages, while impressive, are over a gaudy 38.0 minutes a night. His per-36-minute averages have actually dropped a bit from the regular season (11.4 points, 10.8 rebounds) to the playoffs (9.9 and 10.4).
His best attribute, offensive rebounding, is down slightly as well. After registering a 14.5 offensive rebound percentage in the regular season, Thompson is grabbing 13.3 percent now. His total rebounding percentage is also lower (17.2 to 15.9).
If anything, this should be the opposite, since Love isn't around to gobble up his share of boards.
The good news? Thompson should have his chance to feast against the Warriors.
If Golden State decides to use power forward Draymond Green as the primary defender on James, as the Warriors did in their most recent Feb. 26 meeting, this leaves small forward Harrison Barnes to cover Thompson.
Green finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting and will force James into his share of bricks. It's up to Thompson to capitalize on his matchup with Barnes and the offensive rebounding opportunities that will be present.
When a shot goes up and Thompson and Barnes are fighting for position, there's no question about who's grabbing that board. Barnes is a fine player and an excellent outside shooter, but his slender frame and low rebounding percentage (8.5 percent in playoffs) will not bode well against Thompson's size, skill set and hunger for misses.
Defensively, Thompson will likely match up with Green, whose range extends to the three-point line. He'll have to be extremely active, using his quickness to show out on Green while also being able to drop back and defend Draymond's post-up game.
Kyrie Irving, PG
While technically not a role player, this is exactly what Irving has become as of late due to his knee injury.
Over his last six games, Irving is averaging just 13.3 points and 3.0 assists after going for 21.7 and 5.2, respectively, in the regular season.
Of course, this isn't Irving's fault. He's been fantastic all year, playing through minor bumps and bruises and even dealing with a strained right foot suffered in Round 1. It clearly affected his play against the Chicago Bulls in Round 2 but didn't keep Irving off the court.
After doctors advised him to sit out Games 2 and 3 against the Hawks, Irving returned in the Cavaliers' series-clinching Game 4 victory. As James told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, “Kyrie at 50 percent, Kyrie at 60 percent is better than [no] Kyrie at all. For him to come back and just give us that boost in front of our home fans, I think it was all the more why we were able to close that series out.”
Thanks to a rare conference finals sweep and a predetermined June 4 championship start date, Irving will have had eight full days off to rest his knee.
Following a May 29 practice, Irving assured everyone he'd be a go for Game 1 of the Finals, per Lloyd. “I’m in a good spot right now. I’m really happy, especially where I am. … I’ll be ready to go.”
He better be, or the Cavaliers' chances at a title grow slim. With James leading the way, Cleveland can win it all without Love. With no Irving? It would take some sort of miracle.
This isn't to say Irving needs to take a dip in some convalescent healing pool and come out completely normal. Even 75 percent of Irving may be enough.
The Cavaliers don't need his regular 20-plus points; rather, 12 to 15 would do. Just the threat of having Irving as a dribble-penetrator and spot-up shooter would help keep the entire Warriors defense honest.
As Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes writes, Irving now becomes the NBA Finals' ultimate X-factor:
"Getting into the lane could do wonders for the Cavs. The Warriors' bigs could get into foul trouble, and enough consistent penetration from Irving could pull help away from Cleveland's other three-point shooters.
This series is a big one for Irving, who hadn't even been to the postseason until this year, and whose best performances to this point had come in All-Star games and three-point contests. Stepping up at this juncture could give the Cavaliers a puncher's chance against the heavily favored Warriors.
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Irving could play on one leg with his right hand tied behind his back and still be an offensive threat. His true impact will depend on his ability to defend Curry and Thompson, both of whom thrive on movement and outside shooting.
The Cavaliers have attempted to hide Irving from star point guards like Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague already. If they do the same against the Warriors, he'd have to end up guarding the 6'8" Barnes.
Once an All-Star Game MVP, Irving has now been reduced to a glorified role player if his knee issues persist.
How well he plays through pain, however, may decide the outcome of the NBA Finals.
Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010. All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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