Dellavedova Is a Firebrand and a Spark Plug for the Cavaliers |
Posted: May 26, 2015 |
CLEVELAND — Randy Bennett sighed and laughed Monday as he considered the rhetorical storm that had been circling his former player Matthew Dellavedova. Bennett watched Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday, after which Dellavedova, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ backup point guard, defended himself against insinuations that he played without regard for the safety of his opponents, that he used tricks to rile them up. Pundits and fans debated whether Dellavedova — an undrafted, second-year player from Maryborough, Australia — was a dirty player. The reason was this: For the second time in these playoffs, Dellavedova had been involved in a dust-up that resulted in the ejection of an opposing player. On Sunday, it was Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks, who reflexively swung an elbow at Dellavedova’s head after the two players became entangled on the floor. Afterward, Horford and his teammates insisted that Dellavedova had a “track record.” They referred to an incident earlier in the postseason in which Taj Gibson of the Chicago Bulls was ejected for lashing out at Dellavedova and one in the Hawks’ previous game in which Dellavedova rolled into the legs of Kyle Korver while chasing a loose ball, leaving Korver with a season-ending high-ankle injury.
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Bennett, 52, found it all a bit ridiculous. He had coached Dellavedova from 2009 to 2013 at St. Mary’s College, in Moraga, Calif., watching him hit the floor with the same abandon countless times. Late Sunday night, as he does after every Cavaliers game, Bennett sent Dellavedova, 24, a string of text messages. His message was simple: Keep fighting for loose balls. “He’s catching heat from playing hard,” Bennett said in a telephone interview Monday. “But he can’t back off that. It’s his game. I’m not worried about him at all. I’m just proud of him.” Fans nationwide are only just getting to know Dellavedova. Aside from the extracurricular animosity he has drawn from opponents, his role on the Cavaliers has drastically increased because of the injury problems of Kyrie Irving, who missed Games 2 and 3 against the Hawks with tendinitis in his left knee. Dellavedova, who averaged 4.8 points in 20.6 minutes per game in the regular season, scored 17 points in 45 minutes Sunday in the Cavaliers’ 114-111 overtime win, which gave the team a three-games-to-none series lead. Bennett witnessed countless similar performances by Dellavedova, who remains the career leader in points, assists and made 3-pointers at St. Mary’s. The Gaels retired Dellavedova’s uniform number almost immediately after his college career, before it was even assured that he would have a professional career. When Bennett first saw Dellavedova play, he did not foresee a career in the N.B.A. But he was struck by Dellavedova’s attitude and toughness. Dellavedova never lost his composure. He had a single-minded approach to practice. At practice Monday, Cavaliers Coach David Blatt highlighted these qualities as reasons that Dellavedova had been able to succeed in the league despite an unconventional path. St. Mary’s already had a unique pipeline from Australia by the time Dellavedova arrived. Bennett was hired to coach the team in 2001 and took a chance on a player from Baldivis, Adam Caporn. Bennett loved what he saw in Caporn and developed deep ties to his school, the Australian Institute of Sport, which trains many top athletes in the country. When three Australian freshmen arrive next season, it will bring the total of players from the country to play under Bennett to 18. Bennett said the Australian players generally carried more of a team-first mentality than many American players he had been around. The Cavaliers have been lauding this quality in Dellavedova in recent weeks. LeBron James has been protective of Dellavedova, laughing off the notion that Dellavedova was a dirty player or an instigator and praising his value to the team. “If he isn’t our backup point guard, we’re not sitting here with a chance to go to the finals,” James said. “Some people try to tarnish what he does. To put a ‘dirty’ label on him, I think that’s an injustice.” Bennett watched Sunday’s game from a sports bar in Walnut Creek, Calif., marveling at the performance of James, who overcame cramps and soreness to notch a triple-double (37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists). Bennett is pleased that Dellavedova has earned James’s respect. “Matt has that effect on you,” Bennett said. “He’s had it on every person in our program. The guy’s so pure, as a competitor and as a person. If you’re around him, like LeBron and his teammates, you’re going to get that. Eventually, you’re going to see he is an awesome guy, a great teammate, and you’re going to fight for him.”
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