Bittersweet symphony: Matthew Dellavedova conducting his best work from the sideline
It's been a bittersweet year for Matthew Dellavedova so far.
His team, the Milwaukee Bucks, sit second in the East, 3.5 games behind leaders Toronto, but Dellavedova has played in just half of the Bucks' games, being a DNP-CD (Did Not Play - Coach's Decision) eleven times.
The Australian is taking it all in as part and parcel of being an NBA player, though.
Dellavedova, who is in his sixth season overall and third in Milwaukee, has found other ways to lead Milwaukee's young roster. Whether it's giving teammates advice, speaking up during film sessions, or just yelling encouragement from the bench, Delly remains a positive influence.
"Obviously you always wanna be out there and it's definitely easier to lead when you're playing, but I can still lead from the bench and I'm always trying to help out when it's something I see out there or just some general encouragement," Dellavedova said after the team's narrow loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
If you look at the stat sheets, yes, his numbers are down on his career averages. That's what happens when his minutes have largely come towards the end of big blowout wins. When he has played, however, he's shown that typical Dellavedova grit and intensity.nfl nike jerseys cheap china
Having guys like Dellavedova on the roster is very valuable, according to Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer.
"Delly's leadership and his voice -- in all kind of situations, practices, film sessions, timeouts -- having Delly around is great," Budenholzer said pregame.
"He's got a lot of great insight, and he's been in deep playoff runs, great playoff teams; guys like that are very valuable."
The lack of playing time is not too unfamiliar for Dellavedova -- despite helping the Cavaliers win a championship in 2016, his minutes with the team dwindled at certain stages.cheap nike nfl jerseys from china
While other players may have reacted poorly in the situation that he currently finds himself in, Delly looks back to some former teammates he says were able to lead teams without playing heavy minutes, as examples of how to lead an inexperienced team.
"As we do have such a young team I've gotta be more vocal, but I've been around people who have led really well without playing a whole lot; James Jones is probably the best at it, with how much experience he had," Dellavedova says.
"He would say the tough things when they need to be said. Mike Miller as well when I played with him that one year. You can still be effective being a leader even if you're not playing as much."
