Game of the season
Dellavedova opened the season with a 15-point night against the Boston Celtics, but then failed to score more than 10 points again for the remainder of the season.
Still, that likely isn’t Dellavedova’s best game of the year, as a good Dellavedova game tends to be about a lot more than scoring.
While others got significant credit for the Bucks’ revival in Games 3 and 4 of their first round series, Dellavedova’s influence was equally important.
Dellavedova failed to make an impact in Game 2, which was his return from injury after 10 weeks out, but his contributions in the next two games were notable. Game 3 included five points on perfect shooting and four assists from Dellavedova as he was a +12 in 16 minutes of action, while in Game 4 he delivered four points, four rebounds and three rebounds as a +12 in 17 minutes.
In that regard, Game 4 arguably takes the crown for his Game of the Season as it certainly produced Dellavedova’s Moment of the Season.
Showing great awareness and his trademark hustle, Dellavedova appeared out of nowhere to pick Shane Larkin‘s pocket off an inbounds and throw up a hopeful layup to beat the buzzer as the first quarter came to a close.
The BMO Harris Bradley Center went wild, the Bucks found a new level of energy, and most importantly of all, that heads-up play proved to be decisive in what finished as a two-point Milwaukee win.
This was a reminder of the kind of positive difference maker Dellavedova can be, the Bucks will just rue the fact he wasn’t healthy enough to produce those kind of moments more often.