2019-20 Three B’s - Donte DiVincenzo

Welcome to the Brew Hoop’s entirely subjective and emotionally-driven 2019-20 Milwaukee Bucks season player evaluations! Similar to last year’s series, we’ll take a look at each current Buck and ask three questions: what do they do that helps (Boon), what do they do that hurts (Bane), and whether they ought to be on this team (Belonging).

Today we look at our Big Ragu and see how a healthy season could give us a better indication of what we should expect from Donte DiVincenzo moving forward.

Donte’s Boon: Doing stuff

Yes, I said this exact same thing last year, but this year might be slightly different because we got a much larger sample size. Last year, Donte only played 27 games due to a recurring heel injury, but this year Donte was able to play in 66 games and didn’t suffer any major injuries. Donte increased his production in points, rebounds, assists, rebounds, minutes played and 3-point shooting.

DiVincenzo was one of the bench players Budenholzer called on and while he wouldn’t light up the scoreboard, you knew he was good for chipping in some rebounds, assists and steals as well.

Donte’s Bane: Shooting consistency

While Donte did increase his 3-point shooting percentage, it still was only 33%. The bubble highlighted the issue but Donte, like most of the bench players, went through stretches where they would either shoot 5/8 from three or 1/8 with no in-between. The looks were open so it’s not like Donte was just chucking bad shots. But in order for him to elevate his play, being more reliable from three will help himself and the Milwaukee Bucks offense.

Does Donte belong?

With improved health, we did get a better idea of what type of player Donte is. He is able to be a glue guy that can do a bit of everything when asked, which even includes ball handling. Depending on Wes Matthews contract and replacement, we might see Donte move to the starting lineup. With him being on a rookie contract, Donte is potentially Milwaukee’s best asset outside of Giannis. That alone will at least make him worth keeping, but that also will make him a prime trading chip if the Bucks want to part ways with Eric Bledsoe, Ersan Ilyasova etc. That will be the biggest question, but if Donte isn’t a part of those trades, expect him to be back in Milwaukee.