The Milwaukee Bucks have been impressed with Donte DiVincenzo’s efforts two games into the season, and they hope he can sustain this high-level play.
Before the season, Donte DiVincenzo stated that he did not lack motivation heading into his third year with the Milwaukee Bucks, and so far, he has looked the part.
In the first two games of the season, DiVincenzo has looked fantastic as he transitioned to being the team’s starting shooting guard. In the season opener against the Boston Celtics, Donte made an impact all night long, having shot 6-of-11 from the field, which included 3-of-4 from behind the arc to tally 15 points in 27 minutes.
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The 23-year-old followed that up with another strong showing on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors. In just 20 minutes of action, DiVincenzo finished the game with 13 points, having shot 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from distance.
Although a small sample size, the third-year guard has looked the best he has ever been, and those around him have taken notice.
The first observer was Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, who detailed DiVincenzo’s hot start to the season in Friday’s postgame availability:
"“Donte’s in a good place. The catch-and-shoot three is really important to him, but I think the great thing about Donte is he’s got the ability to catch and shoot, but then he can make a quick decision and drive it and beat closeouts and get into seams and get into cracks and finish in the paint. So, you know, he’s one of those guys we feel can read a closeout, make good decisions, and obviously, part of that is being able to make shots. And you know, we feel like he can do that.”"
Budenholzer’s praise for DiVincenzo is well-deserved, and the Milwaukee Bucks will need the guard to find consistency as the season progresses.
With a more prominent role in the rotation, Donte will see more minutes, more touches, and tougher defensive assignments this season. Although he is the second-youngest player on Milwaukee’s roster, just ahead of rookie forward Jordan Nwora, the Bucks clearly believe DiVincenzo can play a substantial factor in their title chase.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who struggled mightily in the team’s Christmas game, praised DiVincenzo for his hot start to the season. The Greek Freak is happy to see his running mate thriving and has continuously instilled confidence in the young guard:
"“[I] told Donte we need this. We need him to be confident. We need him to be aggressive. We need him to know that he’s not going to swing-swing the ball, he’s going to shoot the ball. We want him to shoot the ball, and he’s been playing with a great confidence. It’s big for us. It’s big for us for someone like Donte that can play both ends of the floor, can make shots, can pretty much do everything. And we want him to play like this all year long, and he’s been doing a great job, he’s getting his rhythm, we’re giving him confidence.We tell him like, ‘This is what you do, you’ve got to keep doing better, you’ve got to keep doing more. You’ve got to shoot the ball when you’re open, you’ve got to create your own shots because we need more threats out there…’ But he’s been doing a great job. Phenomenal job.”"
As Budenholzer and Antetokounmpo both hit on, DiVincenzo’s red-hot shooting has stood out the most in the team’s 1-1 start. Having shot 6-of-9 from behind the arc, DiVincenzo displayed confidence throughout the team’s first two contests, and that will be crucial after he connected on just 31.8 percent of his triples during his first two seasons with the franchise.
It is early, but Donte DiVincenzo looks great for the Milwaukee Bucks, and that is a welcoming sign following his flameout in the NBA restart just a few long months ago.