After quickly gaining a reputation during the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA playoff run last season, point guard Matthew Dellavedova was named “dirtiest player in the NBA” according to an anonymous poll of NBA players as well as head and assistant coaches, compiled by the Los Angeles Times.
The Times polled 24 people and while some gave multiple nominees, Dellavedova compiled 13 votes. Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams was runner-up with seven votes. Golden State’s Andrew Bogut had five votes, Memphis’ Matt Barnes compiled four and Adams’ teammate Serge Ibaka received two votes.
Voters cite Dellavedova’s 2015 playoffs as the main reason he is top of the list. It started in the Eastern Conference Semifinals where Dellavedova wrapped his legs around Chicago’s Taj Gibson’s foot. Dellavedova got the last laugh as Gibson kicked him and was ejected.
Then in their Conference Finals sweep of the Atlanta Hawks, Dellavedova got into it with Al Horford, going for a loose ball. Dellavedova dived and fell into Horford’s legs, prompting Horford to retaliate and get himself ejected as well.
But the most damning instance of Dellavedova’s play resulted in Atlanta’s Kyle Korver having to get surgery on his ankle as Dellavedova fell into Korver’s legs while going for a loose ball.
While some would say Dellavedova is dirty, others would say he is ultra competitive and doesn’t take anything for granted. That he goes all out to dive after loose balls and is willing to sacrifice himself (and maybe others) to try to keep the ball and give the Cavs a better chance to win is a sign of someone having hustle and never takes a play off.
Other people will go somewhere in the middle. As one assistant coach said,
“He ain’t dirty. He just plays hard. See, guys resent people that play hard because they don’t want to play hard. So if a guy plays hard, he’s dirty. He’s not dirty. He just plays hard. People question the play he made in the playoffs against Korver. I just think it was poor judgment.”
In addition, another coach agreed with the above statement.
“His stuff really ain’t intentional. It’s just like goofy. It’s not like John Stockton, where John Stockton was calculated. Dellavedova is accidentally dirty. He can’t help himself. He’s a quality backup point guard.”
That’s the key, Dellavedova is a backup point guard. Anyone who is a backup and wants to play more, is going to be motivated and go all out to earn that spot in the starting lineup, at least that’s how it should be. Dellavedova’s play, dirty or not, was what got him noticed by teams, by fans, by everyone. He just needs to learn how to control that before he hurts himself or somebody else again.
