The Point Four-ward: Delly Roll(ing)?

Four points I’m thinking about the Cleveland Cavaliers…

1.) Matthew Dellavedova may have saved his spot in the rotation with a strong recent six game stretch.

Prior to the trade deadline, the Cavs were known to be looking to shore up their back-up point guard spot. As previously discussed in this column, the Cavs were seriously considering former NBA players then playing in China who would become free agents at the conclusion of the CBA season.

Following an early-season knee injury, Dellavedova was still showing all of the grit and hustle that has made him beloved by each of the last two Cavaliers head coaches. Only now he seemed a step slow(er) and his offense had taken a dip, going from “feisty” to just “showing the occasional twitch.”

Dellavedova has mainly become a spot up shooter this year. 145 of his 257 field goal attempts this year — over 56% of them — have been from beyond the arc. Though he is hitting them at a nearly 40% clip on the year, it has made him a much easier player for opposing teams to defend. The real problem, though, has been that, as the defensive-minded point guard of a defensive-minded bench unit, Dellavedova had become noticeably erratic in his ability to lead a unit that could hold (or stretch) a lead while on the floor.

In the seven games starting on March 1 against the Rockets and continuing through the Spurs game on March 12, Delly’s +/- was like a yo-yo, going for -5, +3, -5, -9, +1, +6, -9… a net -18 over that stretch.

In the six games that followed, though, Delly may have righted the ship. He’s notched a +5, +9, +24, +6, +21 and +11 (per basketball-reference.com). Raw +/- figures are not without the ability to mislead, but they are some easy numbers to back up what I’d been noticing over the past ten days: Dellavedova seems to be playing a lot more like the Dellavedova of last season than, say, the Delly of December 2014 through February 2015. He looks (a quarter-step?) quicker and he’s hitting the wide-open shots he’s seeing a lot of in this offense.

Maybe the he biggest reasons I feel comfortable using his recent +/- hot streak as a barometer, though, is that the +s aren’t just coming in wins, with every – coming in a loss. That +9 was team high in a 14 point loss to the Heat in Miami and that +21 was when he was part of the small ball line-up that turned a close game into a 18-point win against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Of course, he followed up that with a pair of games in the negative column… but, hey, no Cavalier has looked particularly good in the last two.

2.) The fact that this period is also when the Cavs front office would likely be making their final decision on whether or not to roll the dice on a player fresh off playing in China (and, in doing so, likely waive rookie swingman Joe Harris in order to free up a roster spot) probably isn’t a coincidence. Someone around Dellavedova had to tell him that a strong push into the month of April would be the evidence head coach David Blatt — who gushes about his Australian guard at any given chance — would need when arguing Delly’s case to any front office nay-sayers.

Dellavedova’s minutes will get dialed back as the playoffs progress, but if you had to choose a player on this roster not named J.R. Smith who could unexpectedly steal a game or two (though, no, likely not two…) during the Cavs upcoming post-season run, I think it would have to be Dellavedova. And being able to say that with (semi)confidence, makes me feel a lot better about this team.

3.) Oh, and an update for those of you who have journeyed down the Chinese Basketball Association rabbit hole with me the last couple of weeks. Two players with roots in the Cavaliers organization have returned stateside and rejoined the NBA: former Cavalier Lester Hudson signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, while another former Cavalier, Earl Clark, inked his week-and-a-halfer with the Brooklyn Nets.

Clark, the Cavs’ Ghost of Failed Inbounds Plays Past, wound up playing 11 minutes in the Nets 106-98 victory over the Cavs last Friday night, scoring seven points on 3-5 shooting. Pressed into service after Nets forward Thaddeus Young went down with an injury, the 6-10 big man who former Cavs coach Mike Brown tried to turn into an NBA starting small forward was instrumental off the bench as the Nets pulled off the upset win over the Cavs.

Seeing as how Nets coach Lionel Hollins prizes defense as much as Brown did here, it wouldn’t shock if Clark’s vaunted “length” helps him hang on with the Nets for the remainder of the season. Given their surprising play of late, that could even mean a trip back to the playoffs.

4.) Hudson, meanwhile, got into the Clippers weekend win over the Celtics. He played just over 30 seconds, keeping the rest of his stat line filled with zeros.

Okay… that’s it with the CBA. I promise.

It was just the gift that kept on giving.