Donte DiVincenzo Says Thib’s Heavy Minutes Is Beneficial
DiVincenzo says playing heavy minutes in the regular season helped him in the playoffs.
On April 28, 2012, Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls were destroying the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of a first round in the playoffs.
They were up 12 points with a 1:10 left in the game.
However, despite the big lead, Rose was still in the game and after attempting a floater, suffered a season-ending injury.
After Chicago defeated the 76ers 103-91, fans and the media criticized Bulls’ head coach Tom Thibodeau for unnecessarily keeping his star guard in the game.
“No player is a bigger asset than Derrick Rose, and on Saturday afternoon, Thibs didn't protect him. If Rose is lost for the playoffs—which we all hope he isn't—this great season is a failure.”
However, many fans and much of the media were (possibly) a little quick to judge in this case.
Talking to Duncan Robinson and Tommy Alter on The Young Man and the Three podcast, Donte DiVincenzo said that the heavy minutes benefited him.
DiVincenzo, who played for Thibodeau with the New York Knicks in 2023-24, told the hosts that logging in a lot of minutes on a regular basis helped him build a “tolerance” for the postseason.
“Early on, my body actually felt worse in terms of soreness and this and that because like… what you just said, you played X amount of minutes. But throughout the year, you just build up a tolerance.”
During the 2024 Eastern Conference Semifinals, a handful of Thib’s players had to play well over 40 minutes a game because they were short-staffed. DiVincenzo averaged 39 minutes a night.
But the heavy minutes didn’t seem like it affected him, as he played some of the best basketball of his career.
In 7 games this series, he averaged 22.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals.
Robinson, who plays for the strict Miami Heat, added that playing heavy minutes in the regular season helped him prepare for the gruelling playoffs.
“I used to play 30-35 and I was playing 82 games -the whole thing. You actually build up a tolerance for the load. Everyone talks about load management… and I’m not like knocking that, but there is a downside to that in that you’re not actually building the resistance to withstand that.
“So, when you get to a point in the season, like playoffs are a physical grind. No, you’re not playing back-to-backs but you’re playing every other [day], unless you’re travelling in between. And if you haven’t built up that tolerance to extend your minutes to 40 or whatever if you’re a starter, then all of a sudden you’re doing it for the first time, your body’s feeling different.”
DiVincenzo’s minutes started ramping up early in December last season when he became a starter.
He averaged 32 minutes a game in those matchups and frequently played 35 or more minutes throughout that season.
He played 81 games and averaged a career-high 15.5 points per game.
So, I guess many of us owe Thibs an apology for the heinous things we said about him as a coach.
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