It was one of the most inspiring moments of the 2015 NBA Finals. Game 3. Unknown Aussie backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova forced to be put on an IV for severe dehydration after a thoroughly unexpected, gutsy and brilliant performance to hand the Cleveland Cavaliers a miracle victory.
Now, in an interview with ESPN, the boy from country Victoria has opened up about that game and how his superhuman efforts won the Cavaliers the game – but left his physical condition in tatters for the rest of the series.
“First my quads both cramped. Then my hammies. Then my adductors. I couldn’t move off the training table,” he said.
“I was stuck on the table. I had the IV in and I was still cramping. They helped me to the cold tub and I just collapsed in it for 20 minutes.”
The recovery was tough, but the gruelling NBA Finals stops for no man and he had to prepare for Game 4 – lining up against the best point guard on the planet, Steph Curry.
“I probably pushed it a little. I thought I’d pushed it before but there was just so much on the line. I wasn’t scared. What was scary was how am I going to prepare for the next game? I only had one day’s rest between the games.
“I told them I didn’t need to go to the hospital, but then I thought to myself ‘What would happen if these cramps happened again in the middle of the night?’ I would’ve been screwed.”
Player management is one of the bigger cultural differences between Australian and American sport.
Australians love to glorify the self-destructive hero who puts himself through hell for his team. But in the States, this is looked upon as foolish. The best players are wrapped in cotton wool and play only as much as needed.
Longevity is the name of the game. And longevity is what Delly just couldn’t muster.
Game 4, Curry bounced back and Dellavedova simply didn’t have the legs to compete. He was out of gas.
In fairness, Cleveland coach David Blatt didn’t really have any other option though than to play the Australian – Kyrie Irving, his starting point guard, had a fractured left kneecap.
But in true Aussie fashion, there was to be no explanation or excuses from the 25-year-old.
“It’s not something you’re going to bring up in the middle of the series because you don’t want to help the other team,” Dellavedova said.
“There are things that guys probably went through in playoff series that people will never know. It’s common in Australian football that you find out a month later a guy was playing with broken ribs. You don’t want to complain about it, and you especially don’t want to disclose it.”
Game 3 was a defining moment for Dellavedova and the Cavaliers. For better, and for worse.
“I was just spent,” Dellavedova said. “As an athlete, that’s all you can really do. There’s nothing more I could’ve physically done.”
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