MATTHEW Dellavedova is just one win away from what would be one of central Victoria’s great sporting accomplishments – winning an NBA championship.
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Maryborough’s Dellavedova and the Cleveland Cavaliers get their shot at NBA championship glory when they play the Golden State Warriors in game seven of the NBA finals at 10am Monday (AEST).
While this is Dellavedova and the Cavaliers’ second trip in as many years to the finals, Monday will be the first game during the back-to-back series against the Warriors where they have the chance to win the title.
The Larry O’Brien Trophy was never in touching distance for the Cavaliers last year after they were beaten 4-2 by the Warriors in the best-of-seven-series.
But on Monday 25-year-old Dellavedova – a former Bendigo Brave junior and Bendigo Advertiser columnist – has the chance to achieve one of this region’s great sporting feats, with the Cavaliers needing just one more win to clinch what would be the most unlikely of NBA championships.
An unlikely championship given the Cavaliers’ opponents produced the greatest regular season in NBA history with their 73-9 record – 16 more wins than Cleveland.
And it became even more unlikely when the Warriors led 3-1 and had the chance to close out the series at home last Tuesday, but were beaten 112-97, before the Cavaliers backed up that performance in Friday’s game six with a 115-101 win to force all the excitement and drama of a winner-takes-all game seven at the Warriors’ Oracle Arena.
All of a sudden momentum is with the Cavaliers, although history is against them, with the home team having won the past six game sevens in the NBA finals.
Last year Dellavedova was centre stage in the NBA finals, filling the void of the injured Kyrie Irving, but his impact in this series has been diminished by reduced court time, with just 46 minutes for a combined 16 points, three rebounds and six assists as LeBron James and Irving have led the charge in keeping Cleveland in the title hunt.
Here’s hoping Delly and the Cavs have one last hurrah in them and that come Monday afternoon it’s not just the city of Cleveland celebrating its first professional sporting title since 1964, but both Bendigo and Maryborough too have cause to bask in what would be one of the region’s finest sporting accomplishments if Dellavedova becomes an NBA champion.
Luke West – sports reporter