Matthew Dellavedova is the only member of the Milwaukee Bucks participating in the Men's Basketball Tournament in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Participating for your country in international competitions is a big deal for any player, but Dellavedova's participation takes on a special level of importance to Bucks fans this summer because besides Jabari Parker throwing down dunks in the Chicago Summer League and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece falling short in their Olympic qualifying tournament, we just haven't seen Bucks players playing much basketball. (Yes, I am aware that the Bucks participated in the Las Vegas Summer League in July.)
With so much attention being paid to his performance, Dellavedova has managed to impress in a major way. In Australia's first game of group play against France, the Australian guard put up four points, ten assists, three rebounds, and three steals, while posting a team-best +28 and just a single turnover, in the Boomers' 87-66 victory over a talented French squad.
In Australia's second Olympic game, Dellavedova led his squad to a 95-80 win over a tough Serbian team. Dellavedova led his squad to a win with 23 points, 13 assists, and two steals, draining 7-of-8 from the field including 3-of-4 from the three point line. He put up a +21 and didn't record a single turnover in 29 minutes on the floor.
With everything going so well -- and Bucks fans demanding Delly talk -- Frank Madden and I decided that we would record a podcast about Dellavedova's performance thus far in the Olympics, what it might mean for his debut season in Milwaukee, and how it could relate to his potential competition with Michael Carter-Williams for a starting spot. Also, we figured we'd do it before the Australians played the United States squad on Wednesday at 5 p.m. CT for scheduling purposes...not because there is a chance that things don't go well for Dellavedova and Australia in that game (of course not).
Ep 16: Matthew Dellavedova is the King of Brazil
Ep #15: Does a Ray Allen return make sense in Milwaukee?
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