Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 131-114 win over Charlotte Hornets
By Adam McGee
Donte doing things!
After not only pleasantly surprising with his return from injury against the Pacers, but also scoring five points in an impressive burst, Donte DiVincenzo produced an even greater impact on Saturday.
As the Bucks found themselves trailing by 14 points in the first half, and with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe all struggling offensively at the time, DiVincenzo was introduced into the game in the second quarter.
Immediately providing the energy of a spark plug, DiVincenzo fought and scrapped for offensive rebounds and loose balls, showed a willingness to put his body on the line and dive on the floor, and almost single-handedly turned the mood at Fiserv Forum among both the fans and his teammates.
Even more encouragingly, though, this performance wasn’t all about DiVincenzo’s blue-collar playing style. DiVincenzo’s shooting holds the key to his long-term NBA potential, and likely makes for quite a dramatic difference between his ceiling and his floor. On Saturday, he was locked in.
In 18 minutes, DiVincenzo posted 11 points on 4-of-7 from the field, and 3-of-6 from three-point range. That made for DiVincenzo’s best scoring effort since October, while he also added four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
If performances of this variety can be delivered regularly by DiVincenzo, he could yet emerge as a key contributor heading into the playoffs. Considering, just a week ago, it seemed uncertain whether he’d play again this season, that’s a stunning turn of events.