Matthew Dellavedova looks unlikely to figure in the Sacramento Kings’ upcoming playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, but it doesn’t mean he can’t share a few words of wisdom to help out his teammates.
The Australian guard, who is sidelined indefinitely after undergoing finger surgery last week, solidified his reputation as one of the league’s most tenacious defenders in the 2015 NBA Finals.
Who will win it all? Watch the NBA Playoffs and every game of the NBA Finals LIVE on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Dellavedova was given the daunting prospect of guarding Steph Curry but made the Warriors superstar look mortal, holding him to 0-for-8 shooting, including 0-for-5 from deep, in a Game 2 win for the Cavaliers.
The Australian also forced Curry into four turnovers, earning widespread praise.
Curry and the Warriors went on to take the series but Dellavedova’s defensive heroics weren’t forgotten, becoming a topic of discussion again this week on JJ Redick’s ‘The Old Man and The Three’ podcast.
Dellavedova’s former Cavs teammate, J.R. Smith, joined Redick to reminisce on that series and joked that guarding Curry nearly killed the Australian.
“I love Delly to death, but Delly almost died guarding Steph Curry,” he said.
“No, literally almost died. We have footage of this man in the ice tub, like, literally to his neck, trying to guard this man.
“He tried … just from watching that, Dellavedova is, by far, one of my greatest people I like of all time. He literally gave everything he had, and there was no excuse.
“There wasn’t like, ‘Oh, he just had it going.’ It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I’m trying,’ it wasn’t none of that. He could barely talk after, that’s how hard he was trying. That respect level, to me, it goes through the roof.”
Smith certainly isn’t exaggerating as Dellavedova, who played over 38 minutes in Game 3, spent the night in hospital and treated for severe cramping, unable to speak to media after the game.
“I just think he plays as hard as he can every day,” Cavaliers coach David Blatt said at the time.
“He plays right. He’s not afraid. He plays courageously. And everybody on this team has his back. … he’s going to give you whatever he has, and you can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Speaking earlier last year to Kings social media manager Jonathan Bradley, Dellavedova said Curry is “so hard to guard because he never stops moving”.
“No one person can stop [Curry],” the Australian added.
“He’s played with Draymond [Green] and Klay [Thompson] and those guys for such a long time that they know where each other’s moving, so you try and dodge Draymond screens and [Andrew] Bogut screens.
“That was a task that we had a great team defence with double teaming [Curry] off pick and rolls, so it’s definitely a team defensive effort.”