Matthew Dellavedova shows need for Magic’s ‘Heart and Hustle’ era
Matthew Dellavedova has changed the course of the NBA Finals with his pestilence, his energy and his defense. Do the Magic have anyone capable of doing that?
The NBA Finals have been a show featuring LeBron James, but his unknown sidekick Matthew Dellavedova has thrown a kink into the Golden State Warriors attack. Dellavedova does it with hustle, energy, heart — and some say even a touch of dirtiness.
But what he does do is compete, and, as a longtime NBA fan, it was hard not to see similarities between the Aussie guard and NBA legend John Stockton in their demeanor and energy.
To be clear, he is not as talented as Stockton was. He will not come anywhere near contending for the all-time assist record, nor even likely have a Hall of Fame career. But he is making his name now, and he is making a case that next season could be one which features him breaking out.
He is doing it on the basis of hard work and hustle, on hitting the floor and hitting the defender. He is just a combat-driven soldier, and it brings up memories of when the Orlando Magic had that.
Because there was a time they did.
I promise.
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Neither were ever expected to be NBA starters, yet Armstrong won the Sixth Man of the Year Award and Most Improved Award in 1999, while Outlaw quietly took over games defensively, mostly without major statistical impacts.
The Magic finished 33-17 in the shortened season under Chuck Daly’s guidance. Orlando was No. 3 in the league in defensive rating — and defense is effort.
Daly was a defensive coach, and Scott Skiles is, too. All the groundwork is there for the creation of a high-effort team.
The Cavs have been that in these NBA Finals.
The video above is a full-game clip (in the 2000 season when Doc Rivers was making his coaching debut) of Orlando taking on a much more talented New York Knicks team (Eastern Conference champs, at that) and losing by just three, but it is a good illustration of how that Magic team competed.
Armstrong scores 16 points with eight assists, while Outlaw comes in off the bench for two blocks, a steal, six boards and two points.
The bench contributed 48 points in the game, which is another hallmark of that team: strong play from the second unit.
The current Magic just have so much to learn from its past, and it really begins with the strong effort that competitive teams put forth. It’s hard to imagine Scott Skiles accepting anything but.
The best segue ever:
Anderson Varejao, Matthew Dellavedova's coffee runner, seen entering Cavs locker room with 2 fresh cups.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) June 12, 2015
Darrell drank coffee at half time, too.
OK, now Back to the Finals: Dellavedova did put up 20 points, that was not really point ‘A’ of what made his Game Three performance so legendary and so good. It was that he channeled that Stockton, that Armstrong, that “heart and hustle” that has been lacking so badly in the last three seasons of this rebuild for the Magic.
The Magic do currently have guys who put it all on the line, that is not in question. What is in question is whether there is a Dellavedova-type impact lurking on the roster already. A grinder who doesn’t need to score to make an impact, who can get under an opponent’s skin and knock them off their game.
Dewayne Dedmon makes a strong case as another undrafted rookie who has taken a starting role in his career. Dedmon’s hustle is infectious, but even he has not necessarily gone jumping into the stands and sliding after a loose ball on repeated possessions.
Dedmon could be the Magic’s Dellavedova, at the moment. He is the closest thing to fitting the mold of an energy beast.
And there is something extra-worldly about Dellavedova’s energy. It even annoys opposing fans, as it does the opponent, which is the mark of a guy who is making an impact.
That is to say, he has haters. Armstrong may never have punctured a nascent social media in the way that Dellavedova has Twitter, but one figures there may have been droves of fans that found Armstrong an annoying/lovable/polarizing overachiever.
But teams need these overachievers to win titles.
Kyrie Irving left a huge void on a team already depleted of its starting power forward, Kevin Love. There have been others to step up: Tristan Thompson is making his bid for what is most assuredly now going to be a max-contract this summer.
But Dellavedova has been the one that most surprised us. Thompson was a lottery pick and has already averaged a double-double in per-36 numbers, while Dellavedova had only made spot contributions off the bench for the Cavaliers.
The bottom line is that the Cavs are up 2-1 because LeBron James is largely unstoppable. But the sub stories involving the hustle of Dellavedova and the evolution of a nightmare Cavs defense are what has underscored James’ 41 points per game.
The Magic do not have a LeBron James, but Orlando may have a Dellavedova, a player whose energy plays rally teammates as much as crowds.
He is hated, and the Magic need a guy for the rest of the league to hate, to envy — to propel it to unlikely wins. Being the underdog can be quite glorious.