Central Notes: Matthews, DiVincenzo, Olynyk, Rondo

Veteran Bucks reserve shooting guard Wesley Matthews is making the most of his second stint in Milwaukee, writes Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Madison, Wisconsin native, a Marquette alum, made it clear that he wanted to return to the reigning champs. In 11 contests with the Bucks, the 35-year-old wing is averaging 5.6 PPG on a .511/.419/600 shooting line across 16.6 MPG.

“This is what I wanted, this is where I wanted to be,” Matthews said of his Bucks reunion. “I knew in my heart this is where I wanted to be and I felt that from the team, from the organization top-down and now we’re here and I can’t be more excited and happy for it.”

Matthews joined the Bucks on a non-guaranteed contract last month. The team will have to make a decision on whether to keep him around for the rest of the year by the league’s Friday deadline.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

• Just three games into his return from ankle surgery during the 2021 postseason, Bucks shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo suffered a mild ankle injury. He has already resumed on-court workouts, and Milwaukee will have a better sense of a timeline for his return to action next week, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). Playing 16.7 MPG in his three games this season, the 6’4″ wing out of Villanova is averaging 7.3 PPG and 5.7 RPG for the Bucks.
• Pistons big man Kelly Olynyk, who has been out for Detroit since suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain two months ago, has begun working out at the team’s practice facility, per Rod Beard of the Detroit News (via Twitter). Beard adds that the Pistons do not yet have a timeline for Olynyk’s return to game action.
• New Cavaliers point guard Rajon Rondo is hoping to have a bigger role in Cleveland than he did with his most recent club, the Lakers, writes Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. “I’ve always been the underdog my entire career,” Rondo said. “I love the expectations of being ‘done’ or not expected to do things. That’s what I kind of pride myself on, doing the impossible and doing the unthinkable. This group has the talent to do it. I’m looking forward to making some noise.” In 16.1 MPG across 18 games for the Lakers this season, the 35-year-old veteran point guard averaged just 3.1 PPG, 3.7 APG and 2.7 RPG.