Dellavedova finding great balance between scoring and facilitating

As Melbourne United prepare for their road test against the Tasmania JackJumpers, Head Coach Dean Vickerman has praised star guard Matthew Dellavedova for his play across the last two rounds.

Over his last three games, Dellavedova has amassed more assists than anyone in the league (28) while only committing four turnovers.

Speaking on SEN 1116, Vickerman broke down what makes the NBA championship winner such a valuable piece for his squad.

“The basketball IQ is off the charts,” he explained.

“I thought the other night against a challenging defence that New Zealand gave us where they put Cheatham on him and they were happy to switch and Delly just continued to have big-guys on him, just to be able to work it out as the game went along… I thought he was a huge part of that win.

“He’s probably going to end up leading the league in assists which is something that we want from him.”

Dellavedova is currently ranked equal-first in assists per game (6.1), while averaging 11.9 points per game.

Always a threat to impact the game with his ability to get on the basket, Vickerman touched on his ability to balance his own scoring with getting his teammates involved.

“I think he’s got a great balance between scoring and facilitating right now,” he continued.

“We saw what we saw in the Blitz and early in the year, he was just on this scoring run. Now I just think he’s found this balance between his assists, his connection with Ariel and Luke Travers for the lob, getting other people involved.”

Fans can see Delllavedova continue his strong season on Friday evening when United face off against the JackJumpers in Tasmania from 7:30pm.

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.