Matthew Dellavedova played a huge role in the Cavs advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, but that doesn’t mean there will be a changing of the guard.
Despite battling a multitude of lower body injuries, Irving made it clear that he will play in game one vs the Atlanta Hawks.
“I’m going to go,” Irving said of Wednesday’s Game 1 in Atlanta.
It’s been four days since Irving aggravated his left leg in the Cavs’ closeout win over Chicago, limiting him to just 12 minutes overall, including keeping him sidelined for the entire second half. The All-Star point guard consulted with team doctors Friday and sat out Cleveland’s practice on Saturday to rest, but reported marked improvement since the Bulls series.
“I would say just my spirits and mental confidence, just being able to actually feel both my feet underneath me, especially when I’m shooting, it feels amazing,” Irving said. “You know, just a confidence of getting extra work in and just preparing with my teammates. I think that’s the biggest thing I get out of it. I don’t want to be on the sideline at all, especially preparing for a big stage like this. I want to be as close to 100 percent before Wednesday as I can be, so just doing the necessary things in order to do that.”
Dellavedova’s performance in game six vs the Bulls, should make the Cavs comfortable with pacing Irvin, while they determine how he feels.