Milwaukee Bucks: 5 goals for Donte DiVincenzo’s rookie season

4. Average a steal per game

One of DiVincenzo’s strengths is the quickness of his hands and the way in which he reads the floor — on offense and on defense. While at Villanova, the 6’5″ guard racked up 79 total steals, good for 1.5 steals per 40 minutes.

Steals have been a key part of Milwaukee’s defensive philosophy over the past few seasons; swarm the ball, stick limbs in passing lanes, and leverage the roster’s length advantage to generate steals that produce fast breaks and easy offense. Last season, Milwaukee ranked third in steals per game.

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Laying aside the problems with Jason Kidd‘s defensive system, this team is stocked with lengthy athletes and steals do generate easy offense. On a team with Giannis Antetokounmpo, the more transition opportunities Milwaukee can muster, the better.

DiVincenzo cannot force the team to give him more shots or put the ball in his hands more. He will need to earn those opportunities. But from day one he can influence the game by studying and preparing so that when he is on defense he is ready to deflect or intercept an opponent’s pass and start his team going the other way.

Averaging a steal per game is an arbitrary benchmark, and may be difficult to achieve depending on his role. Of players who averaged less than 20 minutes per game last season (minimum 20 games played) only seven averaged at least one steal per game. But it is possible, and it provides something tangible for the rookie to drive towards defensively.