Sports can be cruel. We all know that. But sometimes the cruelty is so sudden, so random, so utterly devastating that it takes your breath away.
Donte DiVincenzo played exactly one minute and 20 seconds in Game 4 of the Minnesota Timberwolves' first-round series against Denver. Then, on a non-contact play, his right Achilles tendon gave out. Just like that, his season was over.
The diagnosis came from Shams Charania of ESPN: torn right Achilles tendon. Lengthy recovery ahead. The Timberwolves' starting guard, who had been instrumental in getting them to this point, was done before the game even got started.
"Devastating blow for the Timberwolves starting guard," Charania reported. And he's not wrong.
I've been around sports for 20 years, folks. I've seen careers end. I've seen championship dreams shattered. But there's something particularly brutal about a non-contact Achilles injury in the opening minutes of a playoff game. DiVincenzo had helped Minnesota claw their way to a 2-1 series lead. He'd played hard all season. And in the span of one step, one wrong twist, it was all over.
The silver lining? His teammate Ayo Dosunmu honored him with one of the great playoff performances in NBA history - 43 points on perfect shooting from three and the line. Minnesota won 112-96 and took a commanding 3-1 series lead.
"This is for them," Dosunmu said, talking about DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards, who also left the game with an injury. "They mean so much to the organization."
But for DiVincenzo, the victory is bittersweet. He'll spend the next year rehabbing, working his way back from one of the toughest injuries in sports. He'll watch his teammates try to make a playoff run without him.
