We are still waiting for a National Championship Game-esque performance from Donte DiVincenzo, and I think we’re going to be waiting for quite a bit longer. We did get a little taste of it in this game, a minute-long burst in the second quarter featuring 8 straight points by him followed by a nice dish for a big Giannis slam. I was able to catch the part of the game where that happened and I admit, I allowed myself to get a little hyped. Not a lot hyped, but a little.
It was short lived, though, because he then promptly went back to his usual low-output style of play. The wait continues. Even with Khris Middleton out, there’s just not a lot of room for a player other than Giannis to really go off. I can count on one hand the amount of really solid role-player performances (this one doesn’t count, it’s more “solid” than “really solid”) the Bucks have had this year, which really sucks for me. I’ve said it before, but I honestly had more fun with the Bucks when they had a roster full of crap and they weren’t winning any games. The variety was more exciting than “wow Giannis scored 30 again and willed the team to victory”.
If DiVincenzo wants to recreate some of his Villanova magic, I would suggest that he figure out a way to play in Summer League next year. I think he’ll still be eligible as a third year player (I remember Chandler Parsons dominating in a similar way), and his development will be so far along that he’ll make easy work of those random scrubs. It’ll be just like college!