The Cleveland Cavaliers would be wise to re-sign Matthew Dellavedova via team-friendly deal, and here, we’ll examine three potential two-man games involving him next season.
It was nice to see Cleveland Cavaliers veteran reserve guard Matthew Dellavedova hit his stride with more of a minutes-share leading into the NBA season’s novel coronavirus-induced hiatus.
He led Cleveland post-All-Star break with 5.5 assists per game, and Dellavedova was getting players such as Larry Nance Jr., Collin Sexton, Kevin Love and others the rock in their preferred spots.
Sure, Darius Garland missing the Cavs’ last five games leading into the hiatus due to a left groin strain played into Delly seeing more meaningful action, but the expiring veteran again proved to me why if it’s feasible via short term team-friendly deal, that he should be re-signed. I believe he’d agree to that at this point in his career, too.
It is not certain at this juncture if we’ll see more Cavs games in 2019-20 at the centralized site of a likely resumption at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney in Florida, so that could mean no more Dellavedova minutes.
In terms of possible scenarios, the league is reportedly very much considering going straight to a 16-team postseason later this summer, potentially having teams get to a 72-game regular season threshold and/or even considering a World Cup-type style which would involve Group stage play. That third option was mentioned in a report on Tuesday from The Ringer’s Kevin O-Connor.
It’s again unclear at this point, though, if we’ll see more games for the Cavs, a non-playoff team, in 2019-20.
What is something I believe is clear, however, is that Delly should be brought back, which I wouldn’t expect to cost the Cavaliers much, and could even see the will-be 30-year-old agreeing to a veteran minimum deal.
Even while I wouldn’t expect Dellavedova to play a whole lot in many instances next year, he still could be a valuable backup playmaking presence for Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
Factoring in that, here, I’m going to take a look at three potential two-man games involving Delly next season for the Cleveland Cavaliers if he is re-signed.
One of those two-man games involves a player that has a well-established chemistry with Delly already.
#3 2020-21 Cleveland Cavaliers two-man game involving Delly: Delly-Nance
Dellavedova and Nance have a well-established chemistry at this point.
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Throughout this season, Dellavedova has gotten Nance the ball to help initiate the Cleveland Cavaliers’ offense at the elbow and out on the perimeter, and that’s paid off.
Nance has had 2.2 assists per game in 2019-20, and Dellavedova was beginning to hit some catch-and-shoot three-point attempts after some deliveries from Nance, who had 3.2 assists per outing in his last 15 games leading into the hiatus. Some of that could be the case again next year as well.
Additionally, with Nance continuing to prove himself as a viable three-point shooter, as evidenced by him hitting a career-best 35.2 percent of those attempts this season thus far, Dellavedova has swung the ball to him and hit him via kickouts a bunch.
If Delly is on the roster in 2020-21, I’d expect much more of that to Jr. in minutes they’d be on the floor together, too.
Along with that perimeter game, the bread-and-butter pick-and-roll between Delly and Nance could again be an effective part of Cleveland’s offense next season. Delly has always had good timing on his lobs passes, and Nance is the Cavs’ best lob catcher/finisher in those situations.
Plus, overall, the highest percentage of passes Dellavedova has made thus far this season have gone to Nance, per NBA.com’s passing tracking data. Meanwhile, the third-highest percentage of Nance passes went to Dellavedova, too (again per NBA.com’s passing tracking data).
The two clearly play off each other well, and with Nance also having really good feel/vision as a passer, I’d expect to see some dishes from him to Delly as a cutter on the weak side along the baseline.
#2 2020-21 Cleveland Cavaliers two-man game involving Delly: Delly-Onyeka Okongwu
USC big Onyeka Okongwu is a player that’s a 2020 NBA Draft prospect that could be a key piece for the Cavaliers’ bench next season, and perhaps be their starting 5 in the near future.
At 6-foot-9, 245 pounds, he’s a fluid player and is extremely athletic, and projects as a switchable defender with tremendous instincts, too.
In this sense, though, I would imagine a two-man game between Dellavedova and Okongwu would be a harmonious relationship, even early on. Okongwu is a hard roller and would be project as a Nance-like lob threat for Delly.
Plus, Okongwu, while not a real three-point shooting threat yet, has shown flashes of a face-up/mid-range game, and I’d expect Delly to feed him throughout games in that way, too, and most notably, Dellavedova would hit Okongwu a fair amount in instances with the two on the floor together on the low block. That could relate to Delly hitting Okongwu for early-clock interior looks in secondary transition, too, as Okongwu runs the floor exceptionally well, too.
Okongwu, who put up 16.2 points per game on 61.6 percent shooting, per Sports Reference, is very polished in the low post, and though his 1.1 assists per outing this season didn’t show it, he does have encouraging passing feel for a big.
If opponents double down, he’d be able to swing it and/or hit Delly as a perimeter shooter/cutter for his push shots after movement.
#1 2020-21 Cleveland Cavaliers two-man game involving Delly: Delly-Dylan Windler
Last but absolutely not least, perhaps the two-man game I’d be looking forward to seeing utilized most in 2020-21 would be between Delly and Dylan Windler. Delly always gets perimeter shooters their looks coming around curls or flare screens on time and right in the shooting pocket ready to fire.
Windler, who hit 40.6 percent of his three-point attempts in a four-year collegiate career at Belmont, per Sports Reference, would fit seamlessly with others, and in bench minutes, Delly in particular (along with a willing passer in Kevin Porter Jr.). Delly would be able to hit Windler, a great ambidextrous finisher, on cuts to the rim/the paint, too.
I’d also imagine Windler could align really well with Dellavedova in the pick-and-pop game as a screener as well, and could get some quality pull-up opportunities after hard closeouts after passes from Dellavedova.
Granted, it is unclear how long Windler will take to get acclimated to the NBA game, and that will likely take a good bit of games. The rookie wing is yet to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, given complications involving a stress reaction in his left leg, and even if there are more 2019-20 games for the Cavs, we almost certainly won’t see Windler.
Next season, though, if he is re-signed, a Windler-Dellavedova two-man game is one that could be really effective in 2020-21 once Windler gets his legs under him. Windler, who is a willing and able secondary playmaker with a solid handle, would be able to hit Delly on cuts when opponents close to him along the perimeter and Delly cutting behind that, too.
While, it is uncertain if Delly is back, and even if that’s the case, I wouldn’t expect him to play more than say, 14.0 minutes per game consistently, he still is a reserve guard that helps all kinds of players get easy looks in their preferred spots. He played into Collin Sexton putting up a scorching 25.5 points per game post-All-Star break, for example.
It’s evident that he meshes well even with teammates he hasn’t played long with, and I’d expect that to prove true with the aforementioned Okongwu, if he’s selected by the Cavs, and Windler early on in that sense.