The Milwaukee Bucks announced on Friday that starting guard Donte DiVincenzo will miss the remainder of the playoffs after suffering a torn ligament in his left ankle in the team's blowout Game 3 victory over the Miami Heat.
Donte DiVincenzo will miss the remainder of the 2021 Playoffs due to a torn ligament in his left ankle.
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) May 28, 2021
The injury occurred in the second period of the Bucks’ Game 3 win at Miami last night. pic.twitter.com/0HnuPS2Twh
The news comes as a tough blow to a Bucks team that was rolling, building a three-game lead over the Heat, one win away from advancing to the Conference Semifinals.
DiVincenzo stepped into a larger role this season as Milwaukee's everyday starter, averaging 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range, with all but his steals average marking a career-high.
He was struggling to score in this first-round series, going for just three points in Game 1 and five points in Game 2, but the Villanova product was making his impact felt elsewhere. He grabbed 17 rebounds, dished out eight assists and had three steals and a block over the first two games of the series.
While the loss of their starting guard likely won't play a big factor in trying to close out this first-round series against the Heat, DiVincenzo likely would have taken on the responsibility of trying to defend either James Harden or Kyrie Irving in the Conference Semifinals (assuming the Brooklyn Nets can close out their 2-0 series lead against the Boston Celtics).
Jrue Holiday will surely take one of those two superstars, but now head coach Mike Budenholzer will have to dip deeper into his bench rotation, with Bryn Forbes and Pat Connaughton likely to receive more minutes and a slight possibility of veteran guard Jeff Teague getting some run, too.
Without DiVincenzo, the Bucks will look to close out their first-round series against Miami on Saturday, May 29 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
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