Minnesota traded a 2030 pick and an unprotected 2031 first-round pick with the Spurs to grab Rob Dillingham with the 8th pick in the draft this past summer. Clearly, they had a vision of Dillingham learning from Mike Conley and eventually forming an elite backcourt duo with Anthony Edwards that will still be elite when those picks come up in 2030.
The speculation was that Dillingham would play more of a sixth role this season, but early on he was not part of the team’s rotation. He saw minutes from time to time, but his last two games were a glimpse into the future. Dillingham scored 14 points in 16 minutes against Boston on Sunday and followed that up with 12 points, five rebounds and seven assists against the Rockets on Tuesday night.
Mike Conley has missed the team’s last three games with a sprained foot, but he is not on the injury report for Wednesday’s game against the Kings. He should return to fill his starting role, so it’s unclear what Dillingham’s role will look like in this game and going forward. He’s clearly earned minutes, but maybe not enough for him to provide value in draft leagues. It’s worth keeping an eye on their rotation tonight, but luckily, this is a dynasty column. Regardless of what his role looks like for the rest of this season, we can still get excited about his future.
Let’s take a look at his performance against Houston and see what went right and where he has room to improve after the best game of his young career.
First Quarter: 3:25, 0-of-1 FGs, 1 assist
Dillingham entered the game with 3:46 left in the first quarter and didn’t get off to a great start. He immediately got caught on a screen and gave up a triple to Fred VanVleet. His only help came within the flow of the offense. He swung the ball over to Naz Reid after a drive by Edwards, and Reid went for a dunk. Dillingham’s only shot attempt came when he was thrown the ball with five seconds left on the shot clock, which forced him to take a tough shot. He was able to get to the rim, where he ended up missing a left-handed floater over his Kentucky teammate Reed Sheppard. Overall, the first quarter of this game was nothing. Screen navigation was an issue on a few plays, which isn’t surprising for a smaller rookie. He didn’t get the chance to create much as Edwards and Julius Randle were both on the floor.
Second Quarter: 4:43, 0-of-2 FGs, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover
Dillingham was benched for the final 22 seconds of the first quarter for a defensive possession, but he went back into the game to start quarter two. He started to pick things up in this period, but he still couldn’t make any shots fall. He opened the quarter with help from a pick and roll with Rudy Gobert, where he was able to find Naz Reid at the top of the key for a triple. Dillingham was able to get Sheppard behind him and recognized that Tari Eason assisted on Gobert’s roll to the basket. He was able to easily slip a pass to Reid, who knocked down a step three.
His second assist came a few minutes later. Dillingham had Eason on him, but he was able to use a couple of screens to force Jalen Green to guard him. That’s a much better matchup for the duty guard, and he was able to drive past Green and force Sheppard to help, which allowed him to kick the ball to Nickeil-Alexander Walker, who went right into a pull-up jumper.
He had a few other solid games that didn’t result in any points for Minnesota. Dillingham had a smooth double cross that he threw out to Donte DiVincenzo for a deep 3-pointer that didn’t go in. He could get a touch in the paint, pull in a help defender, and then kick out to a shooter.
Dillingham also drove past Sheppard for a right-handed layup on the left side that should have been an easy bucket for him. It just didn’t go in. He used quick bursts to get around Sheppard and showed off his elite change of pace that will be highlighted later.
His only 3-point attempt didn’t go in, but it was a shot that he should shoot every time. VanVleet went under a ball screen, and Dillingham immediately went into a pullup three. That’s a shot that’s going to fall later, and when he starts hitting that consistently, teams are going to have to run through screens. That will open up the floor for him to use his speed to gain a numbers advantage and either get a tuck, floater or assist.
Defensively, the second quarter was a little better than the first, but it still wasn’t perfect. He had a play where he denied Sheppard a handoff and followed him on a cut, but he also allowed Sheppard to get an open 3-point attempt off a handoff. It wasn’t a huge mistake, and Sheppard didn’t end up taking the shot anyway.
Dillingham’s turnover came on a bad decision to try to throw a lob to Gobert. He had an open floater but decided to throw the ball up, which allowed Alperen Sengun to blow the play. It was a good thought for Dillingham to get his center involved, but it wasn’t what the defense was giving him.
Third Quarter: 4:37, 3 points, 1-of-4 FG, 2 assists, 1 three
Dillingham opened his third quarter stint by missing back-to-back 3-pointers, though both were decent looks. He ended up getting a third, which he was able to knock down for his first points of the game.
He followed that up with a play that reminds us he’s still a 19-year-old rookie. Dillingham, clearly energized by hitting his first shot of the game, hit Dillon Brooks with a catch dribble, followed that with a double between-the-legs dribble, and ended up going through his legs one more time on a drive that led to an inbounds. contested missed float. Sure, it looked incredibly smooth, but it wasn’t a high-percentage shot with 11 seconds on the shot clock.
On defense, he was beaten by Green on a give-and-go, but the help defense forced a turnover, which led to Dillingham getting an assist. It was a breakdown, but a header from Reid turned it into an easy offence.
Dillingham also had a really solid on-ball defensive possession on Green with about a minute left in the period. He increased the pressure, which forced Green to swing the ball over to Brooks. Green dribbled the ball out when he saw that Dillingham was on him and probably thought he was going to get a good shot up. However, Dillingham got into him, and he couldn’t even think about where to go with the ball. As an undersized guard, that’s the type of defense Dillingham needs to play to stay on the floor.
Fourth Quarter: 10:49, 7 points, 3-of-4 FGs, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 three, 2 turnovers
Q4: 12:00-9:05
This is where things start to get fun. Dillingham played almost the entire fourth quarter and provided plenty of offense. He took advantage of defensive communication and knocked down an open three early in the period that forced Houston to call a timeout.
He followed that up with another play you expect a 19-year-old to make after forcing a timeout with a big 3-pointer. Dillingham tried to put the moves on Sheppard and coughed up the ball quickly.
Dillingham sat for about 45 seconds before returning to the game and immediately found Gobert for a dunk. Edwards ran the PnR with Gobert and swung the ball over to Dillingham, who lobbed it to Gobert on a secondary drive.
He seemed to figure things out during this stretch. Dillingham remembered that his speed gave him an advantage, and he used it to pass VanVleet for this rally.
Sengun blocked this shot, but notice Dillingham’s change of pace on this play. He passes VanVleet, slows down a bit, and then bursts forward for the shot. Props to Sengun on this one, because that wasn’t an easy shot for him to get up and hit.
Dillingham had one more bucket that came off a long offensive rebound. He hit Jabari Smith with a pump fake and drove in for a floater. The camera panned to Mike Conley who had a massive smile on his face. It wasn’t the first time this had happened during the game, but it felt like a teacher who was proud of his student. Having Conley invest in Dillingham will do wonders for his career.
Unfortunately, the fourth quarter was not perfect. Amen Thompson stole the ball from Dillingham with less than a minute left and went down to get a layup that forced overtime. We’ll just chalk this one up to one of the best defenders in the league making an elite play.
However, Dillingham answered. He came down and got a sack off a Gortat screen by Gobert, but it was waved away after Gobert was hit with an offensive foul. However, this was another example of Dillingham’s elite change of pace.
Overtime: 54 seconds, 2 points, 1-of-2 FGs
Despite a great fourth quarter, Dillingham didn’t re-enter the game until it was basically over. He hit a mid-range shot with a few seconds left, but no one even tried to play defense with the game already over.
Summary
This was an impressive showing from Dillingham. Not that it’s a new revelation, but Dillingham’s change of pace is special and will set him apart from other young point guards. He made some impressive passes and some bad decisions. He hit some big shots, missed some easy shots and took some bad shots.
The flashes in his game are incredibly fun, but the mistakes come with a young player with a style of play like Dillingham. We’ll see how he continues to develop, but his production over their last two games against some elite perimeter defenders is encouraging. He has room for growth in areas where young point guards are expected to struggle, but the tension to his game is not something that can be taught.
Hopefully, Dillingham has earned a bigger role in the rotation, and he will continue to get opportunities as the season progresses. However, that performance was enough to keep dynasty managers happy for a few months.
Stats via NBA.com/stats
