Look At Delly, Man: The Night Matthew Dellavedova Became A Cleveland Legend

June 7th, 2015, 8:00 P.M. Game 2 of the 2015 NBA Finals is about to begin. The Golden State Warriors are facing the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Cavaliers limped into this series missing Kevin Love following a dislocated shoulder in the first round of the playoffs, and Game 1 saw their luck take an even worse turn when their All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving fractured his left kneecap in overtime. Even with LeBron James, one of the greatest players of all time, the Cavaliers were massive underdogs to the Warriors, a team led by Stephen Curry. Behind Curry, the Warriors had posted the best record in the NBA and the best in their franchise's history at the time. Curry himself was crowned MVP for the first time in his career this year. So, with no Irving, who did the Cavaliers rely on to guard the best player in the league that year? This guy:

Matthew Dellavedova, a second-year reserve who played just nine minutes in Game 1. He's a short, scruffy guy who seems to defy every characteristic of a professional basketball player. On paper, this should've been a massacre. The reigning MVP going up against an eighth man who was only playing because the star point guard had a busted knee. That's what should have happened.

Who Is Matthew Dellavedova?

To fully understand why Matthew Dellavedova's Game 2 performance was so important, you have to look at where he came from. Matthew Dellavedova was born in Maryborough, a small town in Victoria, Australia with a population of under 8,000. To put in perspective how small that town is, my hometown in Northeast Ohio is about 40 times smaller than Cleveland. Its population is still double that of Maryborough. After taking up basketball at the age of four, Dellavedova would go on to play semi-professionally in the South East Australian Basketball League before his senior year of high school. Ranked outside of the top 100 by ESPN and as the 72nd shooting guard in the 2009 recruiting class, Dellavedova would commit to Saint Mary's College, a school that had only made the NCAA Tournament five times, had only been ranked four times in the school's history, hadn't cracked the top 20 in 20 years, and had produced only six NBA players in 60 years.

Dellavedova would play four seasons with the Saint Mary's Gaels, creating a few moments there, the biggest of which came when Saint Mary's faced Villanova in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The #2 Villanova had ranked in the top 10 every single week of the season. #10 Saint Mary's hadn't been ranked all season. The Gaels were able to pull off the big upset, winning 75-68 after Dellavedova iced the game with two free throws. Dellavedova would finish his college career with averages of 14.2 points and 5.6 assists per game and a West Coast Conference Player of the Year award in 2012 to his name. However, like in high school, Dellavedova was not highly touted in college, and come the 2013 NBA draft, 60 players were drafted. None of them were Matthew Dellavedova.

Thankfully, Dellavedova's journey to the NBA didn't end there. He'd join the Cleveland Cavaliers Summer League team, eventually signing with the team on a two-year deal. In those two seasons, Dellavedova would primarily come off the bench, starting just 15 of the 139 games he played. In his second year, the Cavaliers went from the bottom of the league to serious contenders thanks to the return of LeBron James and the arrival of Kevin Love. During this time, Dellavedova gained a reputation, either as a gritty, tough defender, or a dirty, agitating player, depending on who you ask. This leads us to the 2015 NBA Finals.

The Night

Like I said, on paper, this should've spelled disaster for the Cavaliers and Matthew Dellavedova. He's been a role player for his entire NBA career so far and is only starting because the man he backs up can't play, and he's being tasked with guarding the reigning MVP, who's also so good beyond the arc he's often credited with being driving force behind the modern NBA's emphasis on the three-ball. Nobody gave this man a chance. And then the game started. Curry would shoot, Dellavedova would guard him. No good. Curry would shoot again, Dellavedova would guard him. No good. Again and again and again, Curry would test Dellavedova's defense, and every time, Dellavedova would keep up. Stephen Curry had a bad performance in Game 2, scoring 19 points on 5 of 23 shooting and went just 2 of 15 from three-point range with six turnovers. But when Matthew Dellavedova guarded him, it was even worse. Curry went 0-8 from the field while Dellavedova guarded him, 0-5 from three-point range, and turned the ball over four times. The final shot Curry took in this game was a 19 ft airball, once again defended by Dellavedova. The face that Stephen Curry makes right after is one of utter defeat.

Dellavedova's impact wasn't limited to his defense on Curry, as he had a crucial play that saved the game for the Cavaliers. With less than 15 seconds on the clock and the Cavs down by one, James Jones shot a corner three that bounced off the rim and off the backboard, on a path directly into the hands of Harrison Barnes. That was until Matthew Dellavedova, literally the smallest player on the court, ran in from behind the arc, squeaked in front of Barnes, got the offensive rebound and drew the foul on Barnes. Dellavedova got two free throws, the fate of the game literally in his hands. He nails both. The Cavs take the lead and go on to win Game 2. Dellavedova ended the night with nine points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals, but his impact on the game went beyond the stat sheet that night. Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas called him "the best player on the floor" that night. LeBron James called his defense "spectacular." That is high praise from two of the best players in NBA history

In terms of the NBA as a whole, this game doesn't really matter. The Cavaliers ended up losing this series, and outside of Game 3 where he dropped 20 points and led the Cavs to a 2-1 series lead, Dellavedova didn't perform that well. But for Cleveland, this game created Delly; the city's cult hero. The NBA is no stranger to cult heroes. Whether they be players loved league-wide like Brian Scalabrine and Alex Caruso to the ones loved by the team they play for's fanbase like Nick Collison, they're players that aren't the best, but they're loved by the fans. For Cleveland, that man was Matthew Dellavedova, and he cemented his spot in Cleveland lore in Game 2.