How Much Do the Cavs Miss Delly’s Defense?

The Cavaliers will be without backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova for the fourth-straight game when they host the Sacramento Kings Monday night.

A year ago, there were skeptics who doubted whether or not Delly belonged in the league. He became a fan-favorite and folk hero during the playoffs.

This season, he has gone from a player who was mainly known for his defense, to a productive two-way player.

The Cavs are 1-2 in the last three games and Dellavedova was not on the floor for any of those games.

There’s obviously more to it than just one player, but one of Delly’s biggest strengths is his defense and when he is not on the floor, opposing point guards have been taking advantage of his absence.

Last Wednesday, Charlotte Hornets backup point guard Jeremy Lin scored 24 points while filling in for the injured Kemba Walker. Lin was a big reason why Charlotte upset the Cavs 106-97, hitting 7-of-13 shots from the field and dishing out eight assists.

It was Lin’s fourth highest-scoring game of the 2015-2016 season and he scored almost double his season average of 12.3 points per game.

On Friday, the Cavaliers welcomed the Boston Celtics to town. All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas had a big game, scoring 22 points, but that was right around his average anyway. The biggest shot of the game came when PG/SG Avery Bradley hit a buzzer-beater from three-point range to stun the Cavs 104-103.

Bradley scored 14 points, but if only the Cavs had some kind of lockdown defender who could shut him down for that buzzer-beater. Someone like Delly. Obviously there are more factors in a game, but one crucial stop would have changed the outcome.

The New Orleans Pelicans came to town on Saturday night, and Norris Cole scored a career-high 26 points. The Cavs still got the win, but it is worth taking note when three opposing point guards go for 20-plus points in a row, especially when two of those three average less than 12 points per game.

The Cavs host the Sacramento Kings on Monday night and Kings point guard Rajon Rondo is averaging 12 points and 11.8 assists per game. Let’s see if the point guard combination of Kyrie Irving, Mo Williams, and Jared Cunningham can fare better than the last three games.