Cavs: Matthew Dellavedova continues to provide productive minutes

Reserve guard Matthew Dellavedova continues to give the Cleveland Cavaliers productive reserve minutes when he’s in there for the team.

It’s apparent that guard Matthew Dellavedova, when he’s been called upon, has still given the Cleveland Cavaliers productive reserve minutes this season. In an interview last month with Cavs.com’s Joe Gabriele, it was clear that Dellavedova understood that he is a player that’s not going to be in a ton of minutes at this point in his career.

The Cavaliers are going to be playing youngsters Darius Garland and Collin Sexton a bunch of minutes, and Dante Exum and to some degree, Brandon Knight (though he feasibly be moved in coming weeks), are going to get their chances, too.

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Exum especially will have plenty of playmaking opportunities in weeks ahead with rookie wing Kevin Porter Jr. sidelined for a while. Porter reportedly sprained his left knee earlier this month in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and is realistically out through the All-Star break.

That being said, Delly, though he’s only playing 12.8 minutes per game in 2019-20, as shown by Basketball Reference, has played pretty well for the most part. No, I still can’t fathom that Dellavedova is shooting, and this is not a typo, 17.2% from three-point range this season.

Delly has been a pretty reliable catch-and-shoot option from deep during his career, with a solid 36.8% clip, per Basketball Reference, but for whatever reason, this year it’s been atrocious for him in that aspect.

At any rate, Dellavedova has still contributed in other ways when he’s played for Cleveland head coach John Beilein and the coaching staff.

Dellavedova is still putting up 2.7 assists per game to only 0.9 turnovers, and players such as Collin Sexton, John Henson, Porter, Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. have benefited regularly when they’ve been on the floor with Delly as recipients of usually on-point passes, whether that lobs, kickouts or cutting entry passes.

Considering that Dellavedova, though he’s not nearly the point-of-attack defender he once was, is still a very good team defender and is a player that helps get those around him in the right spots offensively, the Cavs should keep him through the upcoming February 6 trade deadline.

Beilein and company seem to be more than appreciative of how Delly is filling that “coach on the floor” role. Beilein also hit on how Delly had a “really good” outing in Cleveland’s game at the LA Clippers on Tuesday with the media before Cleveland played the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, and despite a Cavs’ meltdown in the fourth quarter at the Chicago Bulls on Saturday thanks in large part to 26 turnovers, when Delly got run, he played well.

Delly had 14 points, including a rare (this season) pair of triples, to go with two assists in 12 minutes at the Clippers, as noted by ESPN.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were blown out 128-103 by the Clips, anyhow, and key players, such as Tristan Thompson and Cedi Osman, played less and Kevin Love rested on the second night of a back-to-back, but it was still good to see for Dellavedova.

In the Chicago game, though he coughed it up twice, Dellavedova still was productive by and large, as he had four assists in just minutes, per ESPN.

In the last 15 games, of which Dellavedova was active in 14, Delly’s posted 3.4 assists per game, to just 1.1 turnovers, according to NBA.com. Furthermore, this season, Dellavedova has had 7.6 assists and just 2.4 turnovers on a per-36 minute basis, as indicated by Basketball Reference.

So again, given that Delly is such a good ball-mover, and is a great coaching-like presence for Garland and Sexton, I still would like to see Delly stick with the Cavs through the deadline, and even more so if one of the Cavs’ best passers in Kevin Love, who wants to be traded at this point according to most Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, is moved soon.

For reference, Dellavedova is on an expiring contract, just like Tristan Thompson, John Henson, Brandon Knight and also, Ante Zizic.

Ideally, I’d prefer the 29-year-old Dellavedova be brought back next season if he and the Cleveland Cavaliers can agree on a team-friendly deal, too.

Delly’s been productive and helped those around him when he’s been on the floor for Beilein and company in most instances in 2019-20, and Dellavedova is more than fine in that aforementioned coach-like role.

The Australian veteran guard always seems to set the right example, and that matters for the young guys, and it’s not surprising that Delly’s teammates and coaches consistently praise for play and effort.