Cavs are hitting offensive stride, reportedly due to Matthew Dellavedova

The Cleveland Cavaliers have played better on the offensive end recently, and that’s reportedly due to the influence of Matthew Dellavedova.

On many occasions, there hasn’t been enough ball movement for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. For most high-powered offenses in the NBA, ball and man movement are the driving force to their success.

Recently, the Cavs have had better movement, and that’s reportedly due to the influence of Matthew Dellavedova, per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.

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Dellavedova had 11 assists in a win yesterday over the Phoenix Suns, per ESPN.

Larry Nance Jr. emphasized how Delly’s passing is setting the tone for better team offense in this recent stretch for Cleveland, per Fedor.

"“It’s contagious,” Nance said of Dellavedova’s passing after Cleveland’s 111-98 win against last-place Phoenix. “You see guys like him, you see guys like Kevin [Love] out there making the extra pass when maybe they have a shot, but the better shot, it’s just contagious. Unselfishness is contagious.”"

Dellavedova is probably the best passer on this Cavaliers squad, and in the last few weeks, since before the All-Star break, that’s been on display.

Nance’s postgame comments just made that even more known.

Fedor then demonstrated how Delly’s passing impact has led to more success for Cleveland this year when he’s been on the floor, and that his net rating only trails David Nwaba.

"“With Dellavedova on the court this season, the Cavs have an assist percentage of 61.4. With him off the floor, that number drops to 52.1. To put those numbers in perspective, that’s the difference between the league’s 12th-best mark and second worst.It helps explain why Dellavedova has the second-best on/off differential in net rating, behind Nwaba.”"

The unselfishness of Dellavedova clearly makes those around him better, as they are getting more quality looks, and Fedor mentioned how Delly has “taken over the team lead” with 4.3 assists in only 20.2 minutes per game.

Nance had 14 points against Phoenix, and those were all from dunks. As one would expect, Dellavedova had a huge hand in that, and his mindset has clearly taken foothold among the Cleveland Cavaliers in general on the offensive end.

Pick-and-roll sets recently have illustrated that, as opposed to players seemingly driving to score more often earlier in the season, with much less efficient results.

The Dellavedova lobs to Marquese Chriss seem to be a developing set for Cleveland, too.

Among teams in their last 10 games overall, Cleveland is at least a respectable 16th in assists per game, and that’s greatly shown by their improved efficiency from the perimeter, as Cleveland is 11th in three-pointers made, per NBA.com.

Only five teams have made less threes per game than Cleveland this year for the season, to compare. In addition, the Cavs are eighth in catch-and-shoot threes made and seventh in three-point percentage among teams in their last 10 games, according to Second Spectrum.

On the season, Cleveland is last in catch-and-shoot threes made, and one particular Cavalier has taken off in that regard.

Cedi Osman, who has been on a real tear as of late, is also a key piece that often benefits from Delly, and because of the better team ball movement, it’s allowed Osman to get more catch-and-shoot looks from three-point range.

Over his last 15 games, Osman has averaged 15.9 points on 63.3 percent true shooting, including 43.9 percent from deep on 5.2 attempts per game, according to NBA.com.

While Osman is someone that can make things happen for himself and others off the bounce in pick-and-roll and in transition, him being efficient on catch-and-shoots from deep seems to open up his whole offensive repertoire more than anything else.

This Cleveland Cavaliers’ team-first offensive ball with less pounding-it-into-the-floor dribbling seems to be contributing to the recent success of Osman, Nance and others, such as Chriss, more than anything. Again, it seems to go back that Dellavedova “best shot possible” mindset.

While a 4-6 stretch for the last 10 games (per NBA.com) isn’t championship-level play for Cleveland, the Cavs are clearly taking positive steps forward.

As Fedor detailed in his article, Delly’s passing influence is proving its worth right now, and perhaps, with players such as Kevin Love getting back healthier, there will be some more winning in the Cavs’ last part of the 2018-19 season.