CLEVELAND — Randy Bennett sighed and laughed Monday as he considered the rhetorical storm that had been circling his former player Matthew Dellavedova.
Bennett watched Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday, after which Dellavedova, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ backup point guard, defended himself against insinuations that he played without regard for the safety of his opponents, that he used tricks to rile them up. Pundits and fans debated whether Dellavedova — an undrafted, second-year player from Maryborough, Australia — was a dirty player.
The reason was this: For the second time in these playoffs, Dellavedova had been involved in a dust-up that resulted in the ejection of an opposing player.