(USA TODAY Sports)
Al Horford was ejected for landing an elbow above Matthew Dellavedova’s shoulders in the second quarter of Sunday night’s game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers after the two became tangled searching for a loose ball.
Horford was assessed a flagrant foul two and Dellavedova was given a technical foul. Horford absolutely deserved an ejection. Dellavedova absolutely deserved a technical foul.
But the controversy comes from Dellavedova’s role in similar events these playoffs. The first when he leg-locked Taj Gibson in the conference semifinals. Gibson’s retaliation earned him an ejection. The second when Dellavedova tangled with Kyle Korver, leaving the latter with season-ending ankle sprain that could require surgery.
Some would defend Dellavedova in all of these incidences. LeBron James ardently supported his teammate during Sunday night’s press conference.
“Are we going to talk about us trying to win basketball games or about those guys trying to figure out a way that Matthew Dellavedova is this type of … this guy, he works his tail off every single day,” James said. “He beats the odds, and he comes to play as hard as he can every single night. If they’re focused on Delly, then they’re focused on the wrong thing.
“I’m a little bit off about it because this is my guy, this is my teammate, and this is a guy that goes out and works his tail off every single night, and people are trying to give him a bad rap. He doesn’t deserve it, and I don’t like it.”
James is wrong.
Dellavedova does deserve a bad rap because Dellavedova is a dirty player.
(AP)
There are plenty of guys who work their tails off in the NBA. They wouldn’t be in the NBA if they didn’t work their tails off. You are capable of working hard and also playing fairly.
No one is contesting Dellavedova’s work ethic. He hustles. But to say that these are just a series of unfortunate events is naive at best. This isn’t Rudy 2. This is a guy who doesn’t know the line and is risking other players’ careers. And what no one is considering is the fact that this is just the third time TV cameras and audiences have noticed Dellavedova mixing it up with opponents. Does anyone really believe he isn’t bringing his unique brand of “hustle” to his game off the ball?
If LeBron was playing against Dellavedova rather than with him, you, I, LeBron, and everyone else who has ever watched an NBA game knows that James would be livid after what has transpired these past three games.
(USA TODAY Sports)
Is Dellavedova intentionally trying to hurt players? When you launch yourself at the knees of your opponents, or leg-lock someone as they are trying to get up, what else are you hoping to achieve?
I wonder how LeBron feels about Kelly Olynyk’s hustle against Kevin Love in the first round of the playoffs.
There’s plenty of room for players to scrap and hustle, and even get chippy during the playoffs. But that’s not what Dellavedova is doing. It isn’t gamesmanship. It’s dirty, and there’s no way around it.
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