The NBA landscape changed dramatically when LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Los Angeles Lakers. And while the Cavaliers have struggled since LeBron left town, they brought in reinforcements by trading for Matthew Dellavedova. But even bringing Delly back to the Cavs won't be enough to save them given how poorly they've played this season and how many issues the rest of their roster has.
Cleveland traded George Hill to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Dellavedoava, John Henson, and draft picks. Dellavedova will help the guard-hungry Cavs, but the team has so many issues that they aren't going to be able to use him to get past the problems that they have. One such problem is the fact that John Henson is already injured, which takes away some of the value that the Cavs got back in the trade right off the bat.
Dellavedova is shooting 46% from the field on the season, with his three-point shooting being one of his real strengths this season. Delly is shooting 46.4% from three-point range on the season, making him a better three-point shooter than he is a two-point shooter so far this year. Compared to his career average of 39% from three-point range, Dellavedova is playing some of his best ball in his career.
Cleveland, though, is only a game away from being the worst team in the Eastern Conference. They are tied with the Chicago Bulls in that second-to-last spot in the conference. Just behind them are the Atlanta Hawks, who have just six wins on the season. Cleveland won just five of their first 17 games at home this year, and they won just two of their first 13 road games. Whether they are in Cleveland or not, the Cavaliers have not been up to par in the NBA all season.
The Cavaliers are not seeing a bump in terms of their perception with regard to the NBA's latest basketball odds at bet365. During a recent game in Indiana against the Pacers, they were 12-point underdogs, as they look like they are going to be huge underdogs against any of the better teams in the NBA this season. Dellavedova won't have much of an impact on the odds for the Cavs this season, but the team is hoping that he will have an impact on the young players on the roster.
One of the main reasons that the Cavs brought Dellavedova into the mix was reportedly to help mentor young point guard Collin Sexton. Sexton was a top-ten pick in last year's NBA Draft for the Cavs, but he hasn't quite lived up to the hype that surrounded his selection. The team is hopeful that pairing him with a hard-nosed point guard in Dellavedova will help him develop an edge to his game.
Cleveland is in for a long season no matter who is on their roster, but the team is going to have one fan favorite on the team in Dellavedova. If they can win a few games in the process, that is just an added bonus.