Re: Matthew Dellavedova (training camp invite)
Dellavedova has been writing a weekly column for an Australian paper. Here's the latest one:
http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/1859463/opportunity-knocks/?cs=81
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Opportunity Knocks
HEY everyone!
We had three pre-season games this week, winning one and losing two.
Jarrett Jack, the back-up point guard, has been out this week with a sore knee so I have had the opportunity to play some more minutes.
It has been a great experience so far and I am definitely feeling more comfortable each time I go out there.
I’m learning a lot about what works and what doesn’t work in the NBA.
One of the things I do is watch a lot of game tape because it helps you pick up on things you don’t see in the game and what reads you should be making on ball screens.
Something I’m working on now is not jumping to pass. The problem with jumping to pass is if the passing option is taken away while you are in the air, most times it will equal a turnover.
The first game of the week was against Charlotte. We played it in Canton, which is a town about an hour outside of Cleveland.
The arena held around 4000 people and it was at capacity so it was a good atmosphere.
It reminded me of the gym at Saint Mary’s, McKeon Pavilion.
The biggest roar from the crowd was reserved for Andy Varejao, his nickname is the “Wild Thing”.
We started the game well early, but eventually faded, going down 92-74.
The second game of the week was at home against Detroit.
This was one of the better games we have played, with everyone contributing well. The final score was 96-84.
It was good to match up on Chauncey Billups a few times. He’s a player I have watched a fair bit over the years.
Our third game of the week was also at home against Indiana. They are a good team, who went to the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
We played a solid half of basketball, but they jumped us late in the third and continued away with the game in the fourth, beating us 102-79.
After the game I got to catch up with a teammate from the 2007 under-18 Vic Country State team - Hayden Annett - who I hadn’t seen for a couple of years which was cool.
Hayden is in his senior year of college at a school in West Virginia.
We just arrived in Columbus which is the capital of Ohio. When we arrived, a few of the players and coaches went to a local charity to give packages of food and care products to 200 families. It was a pretty cool experience.
As I write this we're scheduled to play Philadelphia tomorrow so I’m looking forward to catching up with my old Boomers coach Brett Brown.
He definitely taught me a lot and it has helped me with my transition to the NBA game.
If anyone they would like to hear about anything or some questions, I’ll answer a couple each week, you can tweet to me @matthewdelly.
Thanks. Have a good week everyone.