Entering his fourth year with the Milwaukee Bucks, I still believe in Donte DiVincenzo.
I say this at the risk of sounding unjournalistic or overtly biased and impassioned, but I’ve believed in the Big Ragu’s abilities ever since the Milwaukee Bucks drafted him 17th overall in 2017. I genuinely believe he is an important part of this Bucks team’s long-term future moving forward, whether they actually think so themselves or not.
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This unabashed belief is also why I feel I have the objectivity to say that Donte may have some lost ground to gain back this season post-injury.
Whether there is truth to the whispers of his numbered days, the fact of the matter is that DiVincenzo may have to compete for minutes again for the first time since he was drafted.
Bucks fans should know what Donte can do and what the Bucks were missing for three straight playoff series. He was—and is—an elite guard defender and rebounder for his size in just his third year in the NBA. Popular basketball discourse has largely overlooked his injury (looking at you, “Hospital Ring” Twitter) and how that affected the Bucks in the postseason.
With the addition of Grayson Allen and Rodney Hood—both fine shooting wings in their own right—to this Bucks team, it’s not hard to speculate that DiVincenzo’s days as a Milwaukee Buck might be numbered. He’s had more than his fair share of season-ending injuries up until this point, and much has also been said about his offensive limitations thus far in his career.
Here are a few goals for DiVincenzo to look to achieve this coming season, from the perspective of one of his staunchest defenders.
Donte DiVincenzo simply needs to be a better scorer for the Milwaukee Bucks, hard stop.
There’s no avoiding it: DiVincenzo needs to put it together as a scorer on all three levels this coming season with the Bucks. His decent 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game belie this reality.
For so long, the Bucks’ fifth starter always looked like he was on the cusp of something great as the team’s shooting guard of the future post-Malcolm Brogdon. Unfortunately, he’s had all the chances and the reps by now, and he just hasn’t broken through on the offensive end.
After a fiery shooting start to begin the 2021 NBA Season where he shot a stellar 63.3 percent from 3-point land in his first six games, DiVincenzo’s shooting froze to a putrid 24.4 percent in the six games after. The slump was on from there; he had high points every now and then, but his scoring generally crumbled as he struggled to string together enough games of decent offensive production.
Part of this was due to his poor finishing. Donte found that when his outside shot wasn’t falling, he couldn’t rely on his inside touch, either.
According to Cleaning the Glass, Donte only made 54 percent of his shot attempts at the rim, a number that meant he was only better in that area than 18 percent of players in his position. It didn’t help that a good 31 percent of all his field-goal attempts came at the rim, where his efficiency has seemingly steadily declined over the years. When he’s fouled, his 71.8 percent shooting clip from the free-throw line is also not going to cut it.
It’s a compelling problem to have. When he drives strong to the cup, the guard has shown that he can absolutely penetrate opposing defenses and put them in tough situations. Unfortunately, he seems to take the tougher shots even in the easiest of opportunities.
And so despite his overall skillset on a basketball court, his impact on the offense was largely peripheral this year. He battled inconsistency on all three levels of scoring and just couldn’t get anything to stick in the long term. In spite of his steadier diet of shot attempts as a starter, he just looked impotent out there for most of the past year.
Even when he was locking up the likes of Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro in the playoffs, his offense on the other end was forced and deflated. In the first three games of that series, DiVincenzo shot a collective 2-for-12 or 16.7 percent from deep and 3-for-16 overall against the Miami Heat.
Fortunately for him, opposing teams still seemed to respect his shot enough to stay home on him and close out to the perimeter when they didn’t, leading to better opportunities and overall production for the Bucks as a whole.
Per PBP Stats, the Bucks still outscored the opposition by +7.36 on a 120.23 offensive rating with DiVincenzo playing versus +3.66 and 114.92 points per 100 possessions when he was on the bench. On the other hand, he hardly made them pay when he found himself open to let it fly.
His scoring leaves so much more to be desired. But his overall offensive stats show there’s also more he can do besides putting the ball in the basket.
Donte DiVincenzo playing point guard has potential, but the Milwaukee Bucks may need more than just potential moving forward
Playing around the trio of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, and Khris Middleton, it’s perfectly understandable that DiVincenzo’s role is often relegated to that of a catch-and-shoot bomber in the corners. But if he maintains his streaky shooting, more freedom within a broader offensive role could be key to unlocking his scoring potential next season.
When he’s not scoring, DiVincenzo should be able to contribute to the team in other ways. He already does this with his defense and hustle, but his offensive impact (or lack thereof) can be mitigated with how he handles and passes the rock to set up other teammates for success on that end. DiVincenzo has never been the best playmaker, but in each time he’s been given point guard duties, he responded gracefully. He’s a capable ball-handler in limited spurts and already a willing passer as it is. There’s a positive pattern in his production whenever his usage within the offense is upped, and the stats prove it.
It’s not a coincidence that Donte’s best game this season came when he started at point guard against the New Orleans Pelicans and his former mentor in Eric Bledsoe. With Jrue Holiday sidelined with injury, Donte, who already spent 52 percent of his minutes at the point guard position for the Bucks in his freshman season, excelled when he had the ball in his hands for a longer stretch whilst being more involved in the team’s offense. He finished that game with 24 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists.
He never quite eclipsed those numbers again, but he also hardly saw that kind of usage rate and ball-handling opportunity again in the wake of Holiday’s return.
In truth, there has been a world of difference between his shooting guard minutes and the time he spends handling the ball at point. Per Cleaning the Glass, DiVincenzo had the highest offensive rating, effective field goal percentage, and points per shot attempt, when playing the point guard position with the Bucks.
According to NBA.com/stats, among starting guards with at least 50 games played, he is actually first in the league in assist percentage off drives, dishing the ball off to teammates for buckets 16.1 percent of the time when he slashes. He’s also second behind just Fred VanVleet on pass percentage off drives. This is despite being relatively middle-of-the-pack in this group with his meager 44.5 touches per game. As a result, he also averages just 4.2 drives per game, putting him in the bottom echelon of the league on those plays.
Given the small sample size playing the point—where he only spent 8 percent of his minutes this season—these numbers only really prove his potential more than anything else. Good things seem to happen for the Bucks when DiVincenzo has the ball in his hands and the freedom to try to score, and he certainly has an argument for more offensive autonomy at this point.
Does DiVincenzo need to be good enough to be the main point guard off the bench? With George Hill back in Wisconsin, probably not. But establishing himself in that role as more than just a tertiary playmaker can only help his cause.
Even regardless of what position he plays, an influx in reps just handling the ball for Donte could perhaps bode well for the Bucks and make them a more complete offensive unit moving forward.
More than anything else, Donte DiVincenzo should strive to be himself—and the best version of himself for the Milwaukee Bucks
None of this is to highlight DiVincenzo’s limitations as a basketball player with the Bucks. After all, even despite all his limitations, the 24-year-old is a winning player who manages to find a way to positively impact games night in and night out.
Bucks fans should know that with Donte’s effect on the floor as it stands, everything else should be a bonus. This version of Donte is already an elite, disruptive presence who throws a proverbial wrench into offensive schemes just by being there. The swiss army knife guard plays like a young Jrue Holiday at times, which is why having a backcourt with those two players has been such a luxury for the defending champions.
Here’s a look at what the stats say. For the entire season starting Donte at shooting guard, the Bucks outscored opponents by a net +8.1 whenever DiVincenzo was on the floor. Although this number may be inflated by his time spent next to the trio, this was also the third-highest net rating by a Bucks player after Antetokounmpo and Holiday.
It’s been said over and over again: Donte is sniffing elite status as a defender and rebounder if he isn’t already there. His 109.1 points conceded per 100 possessions is eighth in the NBA among starting guards with at least 60 games played, while his 4.5 offensive rebounding percentage puts him in the 85th percentile among other players in his position.
Hustle is the name of the game for the 24-year-old, and in a supporting cast already sporting a litany of other explosive pests like Pat Connaughton, P.J. Tucker, and Thanasis Antetokounmpo, DiVincenzo still managed to stand out in that role. Per NBA.com/stats, DiVincenzo finished this season tenth in the league in total loose balls recovered, while also having a solid impact in charges drawn and deflections.
He kept this volatile aspect of his game heading into the playoffs, too. Before he went down with an injury, he held Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro to 33.3 percent shooting apiece, while none of Trevor Ariza, Goran Dragic, and Duncan Robinson could convert on any of their shots when Donte was the closest defender.
For a Milwaukee Bucks team whose emergent identity is predicated on hustle and intangibles, a player with this kind of intangible impact on the basketball court objectively cannot be “the worst starting shooting guard” in the National Basketball Association, even with the impediments so acutely evident in his overall game.
This is why more than anything else, DiVincenzo should look to be the best version of himself as the year progresses.