The Donte "Big Ragu" DiVincenzo Thread

[younggunsmn]

The guy averaged 23 pts on high efficiency, 5 rebs, 3 asts in that last playoff series. He's a good facilitator, rebounder for a guard, on ball + team defender.

I don't get this silliness about him being a 6th man. One reason for the Knicks being compelled to trade him is after that performance last season they couldn't have seriously relegated him to the bench due to all that wing acquisition. Who's forcing him to the bench on Minny, a 37 yr old Conley, or 19 yr old Dillingham?

I wouldn’t expect him to start over Conley.

He was already offensively too limited. Now he'll be a year older. There's nothing he does better than DiVo at this pt & many things he does worse. Knicks were 1 of the few teams Donte doesn't start on next yr. Minny certainly aren't 1 keeping him out.

Conley is incredibly important to us, well beyond the stats. He is going to start.
He is also going to be capped at ~28 minutes most nights and sit out a lot of back to backs.

DDV will be pushing 30 minutes every night, and whether or not he closes games will probably depend on matchups and if we are leading or chasing. There are going to be plenty of minutes and opportunities to shine for him.

[younggunsmn]

One thing I notice is how he is always shot ready, has a quick release, and isn't afraid to shoot contested 3s. All good things.
He learned a lot from his one year with Klay and Steph.

241 made catch and shoot 3's last year. Something this team desperately needs.

[Bernman]

Conley is incredibly important to us, well beyond the stats. He is going to start.
He is also going to be capped at ~28 minutes most nights and sit out a lot of back to backs.

DDV will be pushing 30 minutes every night, and whether or not he closes games will probably depend on matchups and if we are leading or chasing. There are going to be plenty of minutes and opportunities to shine for him.

He wasn't important enough to prevent your halfcourt offense from being inept against Dallas. And DiVo wanted out of a situation where they were trying to send him to the bench because of an actual talent surplus at the position, unlike in Minny.

It's his time. He brokeout to be a real difference maker the 2nd half of last season & backed it up in the playoffs for the 1st time, unlike he could w/ the Bucks & GS. You should embrace it. You will develop your own affinity to DiVo when he's there.

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[shrink]

Conley is incredibly important to us, well beyond the stats. He is going to start.
He is also going to be capped at ~28 minutes most nights and sit out a lot of back to backs.

DDV will be pushing 30 minutes every night, and whether or not he closes games will probably depend on matchups and if we are leading or chasing. There are going to be plenty of minutes and opportunities to shine for him.

He wasn't important enough to prevent your halfcourt offense from being inept against Dallas. And DiVo wanted out of a situation where they were trying to send him to the bench because of an actual talent surplus at the position, unlike in Minny.

It's his time. He brokeout to be a real difference maker the 2nd half of last season & backed it up in the playoffs for the 1st time, unlike he could w/ the Bucks & GS. You should embrace it. You will develop your own affinity to DiVo when he's there.

Meh. So you’re saying Conley WAS important enough to keep the halfcourt offense popping against PHX and DEN? Or are you going to define all our players by the games when they ran out of juice?

Passing to Gobert is very difficult. When Conley joined the Jazz, he said it took him a year to understand the unique angles needed to get Gobert the ball. Ant hasn’t figured it out either. The Conley-Gobert pick-and-roll keeps Rudy as an offensive weapon that requires attention.

DiVincenzo’s three point shooting is definitely a skill MIN can use (although Conley is better for his career and last year (44% vs 40%), but it would be hard to make DD a starter over Conley. Plus, even Ant will tell you that Mike is the leader of the team. Maybe MIN will rest Conley more during the season and GG can start those games.

[younggunsmn]

Conley is incredibly important to us, well beyond the stats. He is going to start.
He is also going to be capped at ~28 minutes most nights and sit out a lot of back to backs.

DDV will be pushing 30 minutes every night, and whether or not he closes games will probably depend on matchups and if we are leading or chasing. There are going to be plenty of minutes and opportunities to shine for him.

He wasn't important enough to prevent your halfcourt offense from being inept against Dallas. And DiVo wanted out of a situation where they were trying to send him to the bench because of an actual talent surplus at the position, unlike in Minny.

It's his time. He brokeout to be a real difference maker the 2nd half of last season & backed it up in the playoffs for the 1st time, unlike he could w/ the Bucks & GS. You should embrace it. You will develop your own affinity to DiVo when he's there.

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We just traded away the guy who made our offense inept against Dallas to New York.
That series wasn't Mikes fault, even if he was playing that series essentially on one leg.
You don't understand how important he is to us with his leadership and ability to navigate the screen game on defense.

I definitely think DDV will be a big difference maker for us.
He averaged 29 MPG last year for the Knicks and I foresee about the same for us to start.
That's not a reduced role.
If he plays his way into more than that, well that's a really nice problem to have.
He's not a true PG, he thrives on the catch and shoot and I think playing next to Ant and Joe Ingles on the 2nd unit is where he is really going to shine.

[zimpy27]

Could he start?

Julius+DDV provide the same amount of playmaking as Conley+KAT

[FrenchMinnyFan]

I wouldn’t expect him to start over Conley.

He was already offensively too limited. Now he'll be a year older. There's nothing he does better than DiVo at this pt & many things he does worse. Knicks were 1 of the few teams Donte doesn't start on next yr. Minny certainly aren't 1 keeping him out.

First, Conley is the best NBA pull up shooter from three.

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Second, Conley is the MIN best option to run pick-n-roll with Gobert.

Yes, he is old, but he is not that limited.

+1, and you could have add that Mike is very efficient when it matters. I love the DDV trade, it will help to keep Mike, ANT fresh. I do not forget that Mike and ANT were not 100% against Dallas,

[shrink]

Could he start?

Julius+DDV provide the same amount of playmaking as Conley+KAT

Not if the Wolves wants opponents to defend Gobert.

[Loaf_of_bread]

Could he start?

Julius+DDV provide the same amount of playmaking as Conley+KAT

Not if the Wolves wants opponents to defend Gobert.

I'm not either pushing for the michael jordan of Delaware to start either, but if the dude doesn't calm down a bit with his efficiency, why not??

[shrink]

Could he start?

Julius+DDV provide the same amount of playmaking as Conley+KAT

Not if the Wolves wants opponents to defend Gobert.

I'm not either pushing for the michael jordan of Delaware to start either, but if the dude doesn't calm down a bit with his efficiency, why not??

LOL! I hadn’t heard that nickname before! I then went and read the story. Thanks for including that!

I feel the problem with taking Mike out of the starting line up is that you lose more than Mike. You lose Mike’s positive impact on many of the other players, particularly Gobert. I liked the strive for continuity that I thought we were on.

[coachEmily]

One thing I notice is how he is always shot ready, has a quick release, and isn't afraid to shoot contested 3s. All good things.
He learned a lot from his one year with Klay and Steph.

241 made catch and shoot 3's last year. Something this team desperately needs.

I agree DiV could be an all-star this year and literally become the new Klay Thompson, but with a nicer personality than Klay!

[minimus]

Could he start?

Julius+DDV provide the same amount of playmaking as Conley+KAT

If you watched MIN and NY games (I watched a few NY games yesterday and today) Julius+DDV and Conley+KAT provide different playmaking.

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The hope is that as season progresses Conley+Julius+DDV will be fully integrated in MIN offense and defense.

[minimus]

Conley is incredibly important to us, well beyond the stats. He is going to start.
He is also going to be capped at ~28 minutes most nights and sit out a lot of back to backs.

DDV will be pushing 30 minutes every night, and whether or not he closes games will probably depend on matchups and if we are leading or chasing. There are going to be plenty of minutes and opportunities to shine for him.

He wasn't important enough to prevent your halfcourt offense from being inept against Dallas.

NAW (shoulder after Jokic screen), Edwards (back after Jokic foul), Towns (did not recover properly after surgical operation) and Conley (age) all were dealing with injures in DAL series. Load management and depth are more important to this group than you think, because of style of defense they play on daily basis.

[minimus]

When I think about DDV role in MIN I think about three things:

First, Finch NBA best offense in January 2022, with Beasley flamethrowering as 6th man, many off ball, exit screens for Malik. MIN ranked 1st in 3pt attempts.

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Enter one of the best NBA off ball screeners Gobert

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Second, Conley and Gobert empty side action which lead to multiple Conley's threes after Gobert screen. Plus Conley Flex action (can't find video on mobile) .

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Finally, Edwards (Randle) kick out passes to open three point shooter. Gobert has been solid at short pass as well.

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DDV will have plenty of opportunities, plenty of options.

[minimus]

Here is an example of Flex action



Note how two our shooters NAW and Conley set cross screen. I see a lot of potential for our coaching staff of having two shooters on the floor. I mean look at GSW built offense around two shooters who kept defense guessing.

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P.S. I hope Dillingham will be another high level shooter / playmaker for us.

[Bernman]

Meh. So you’re saying Conley WAS important enough to keep the halfcourt offense popping against PHX and DEN? Or are you going to define all our players by the games when they ran out of juice?

Passing to Gobert is very difficult. When Conley joined the Jazz, he said it took him a year to understand the unique angles needed to get Gobert the ball. Ant hasn’t figured it out either. The Conley-Gobert pick-and-roll keeps Rudy as an offensive weapon that requires attention.

DiVincenzo’s three point shooting is definitely a skill MIN can use (although Conley is better for his career and last year (44% vs 40%), but it would be hard to make DD a starter over Conley. Plus, even Ant will tell you that Mike is the leader of the team. Maybe MIN will rest Conley more during the season and GG can start those games.

The Mavs had the horses & plan to contain Ant, forcing the rest of the Wolves, including Conley, to beat them. They couldn't.

DiVo averaged 23 pts on high efficiency against the Pacers. He was in the 20's on high efficiency for almost the 2nd half of the season. In no world could a 36-37 yr old Conley do anything close to that, if asked. At this pt, Donte has a better ability to attack close outs & get his shot off from the outside.

This is not mention DiVo has a better ability to stay w/ a guy like Kyrie that Mike had trouble guarding at this stage. DiVo ranges to help others more. He helps you win a rebounding/loose ball battle you lost against Dallas due to slow-footedness.

[Klomp]

Is there any chance DiVincenzo starts? We could use the three’s. But we have to start Randle, so McDaniels can stay at SF, right?

Also, does DD end up taking almost all of NAW’s minutes?

I think NAW's odds of being in MN after the deadline took a massive hit.

Especially if Shannon looks like he can be a rotation player.

I would actually argue that they were already limited. This just makes it easier to manage making a deadline trade.

[BlacJacMac]

Is there any chance DiVincenzo starts? We could use the three’s. But we have to start Randle, so McDaniels can stay at SF, right?

Also, does DD end up taking almost all of NAW’s minutes?

I think NAW's odds of being in MN after the deadline took a massive hit.

Especially if Shannon looks like he can be a rotation player.

I would actually argue that they were already limited. This just makes it easier to manage making a deadline trade.

I’ve been saying since the draft that I saw TSJ as NAW’s replacement. Adding Donte makes it a near inevitably that he’s gone.

[minimus]

I think NAW's odds of being in MN after the deadline took a massive hit.

Especially if Shannon looks like he can be a rotation player.

I would actually argue that they were already limited. This just makes it easier to manage making a deadline trade.

I’ve been saying since the draft that I saw TSJ as NAW’s replacement. Adding Donte makes it a near inevitably that he’s gone.

Sad, but true.

[Loaf_of_bread]

Not if the Wolves wants opponents to defend Gobert.

I'm not either pushing for the michael jordan of Delaware to start either, but if the dude doesn't calm down a bit with his efficiency, why not??

LOL! I hadn’t heard that nickname before! I then went and read the story. Thanks for including that!

I feel the problem with taking Mike out of the starting line up is that you lose more than Mike. You lose Mike’s positive impact on many of the other players, particularly Gobert. I liked the strive for continuity that I thought we were on.

It's much better than "big ragu". That's what I'm calling him.