Milwaukee Bucks beginning watchman Donte DiVincenzo will miss the remainder of the NBA end of the season games with a torn tendon in his left lower leg, the group declared Friday.
DiVincenzo endured the injury in the second quarter of Thursday’s 113-84 success over the Miami Heat. DiVincenzo was heading toward the basket when he evidently made an awful stride and promptly flinched in obvious pain. He advanced back to the opposite finish of the court toward the Milwaukee bench, slapped a sideline barrier in frustration and afterward jumped into the locker room for evaluation.
The Bucks initially considered it a left foot contusion, and coach Mike Budenholzer said there was trust within the team after the game that DiVincenzo would miss just a small amount of time.
A MRI on Friday removed that trust.
“It’s a tough blow, but you have to kind of process and understand it’s an unfortunate thing, but we have to prepare and get ready,” Budenholzer said. “Other guys will have opportunities.”
DiVincenzo, 24, had begun 66 games during the regular season – averaging career highs of 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists – and every one of the three playoff games.
“On an individual, personal level for Donte, it’s really, really tough,” Budenholzer said. “But his mentality, his approach, any time Donte is thrown some adversity or thrown something that’s difficult for himself or for everybody, the way he handles it just continues to be impressive.”
The Bucks, who hold a 3-0 arrangement lead over the Heat, will hope to finish off the first-round series Saturday.
Budenholzer’s move will be to decide who starts Game 4. The arrangement of DiVincenzo alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez was 34-14 this season.
An alternative might be to begin Jeff Teague, a move that would permit Budenholzer to keep what has become his conventional second unit – principally with Bryn Forbes and Pat Connaughton getting the reinforcement monitor minutes – flawless. Teague has played just 5 minutes, 26 seconds in the three season finisher games, all during Thursday’s Game 3 victory.
“Jeff Teague, his ability to step in and play and help us is certainly something that gives us confidence,” Budenholzer said. “Everybody’s got to be ready to go. If you’re in a uniform, you’ve got to be ready.”