Rob Dillingham Might Be PERFECT For Minnesota…

Rob Dillingham Might Be PERFECT For Minnesota…

welcome to another hows and growls breakdown and the Minnesota Timberwolves just took the biggest swing of the 20124 draft moving up to the eighth spot to take ky’s Rob Dillingham and if there is an ideal mix of fun fit and potential production in this draft especially for a team like the Timberwolves then Dillingham is that guy he’s Shifty he’s insanely creative and he’s got a deep bag of tricks that will instantly add a layer of dynamism to this Wolf’s team they needed a scorer they needed a point guard of the future and they needed someone who could run alongside Anthony Edwards and provide them with the sort of excitement that ant does on a nightly basis and that guy is Rob Dillingham the first thing that stands out with Minnesota’s newest piece is his ability to create and make shots in a variety of ways in the most simplistic way the game is about a bucket and Rob Dillingham gets buckets whether it’s off the bounce off the catch moving toward the rim or shaking his man with a sick handle he’s the kind of player who finds ways to score what really pops is dillingham’s ability to create space and knock down three-point shots off the dribble that’s not always the most efficient shot at the NBA level level but it’s imperative that teams still possess multiple guys who can do that at a high level when the offense breaks down and a bucket is required Dillingham has an instinctual way of separating himself from defenders in tough positions finding his balance and then making tough shots again great teams won’t be surviving on a shot diet full of pullup jumpers but they do have the players who can provide them when they need did the Timberwolves weren’t one of those teams last season and that’s one of the reasons that they finished the season as the 17th ranked offense if you look at the Boston Celtics they had five players who attempted at least 100 pullup threes last season while the Timberwolves had just two Anthony Edwards and Mike Conley the ability to punish teams for going under screens slacking off in transition or being a step slow on dribble handoff actions is really an imperative skill for multiple guys to have on a team in today’s NBA Dillingham is the most deadly pull-up shooter in this draft class and that opens up more scoring avenues for the Wolves so when Rudy go Nails a Defender with one of his trademark ball screens like this especially when the defender is in drop coverage here Dillingham is going to flow into that open space and right into a look that he loves even if a Defender is closing him down the ability to set those screens up and then rain threes is a real feature of dillingham’s game and it’ll fit right in next to go who’s a supreme screen Setter Edwards himself feels those benefits every single night here’s that same situation the ball screen Comes The Defender is in drop coverage and Edwards steps into the space to knock down a jumper the more ball handlers who can make that shot the better Minnesota will be there’s a chance that Dillingham becomes one of the best shot makers in the league in that kind of quickfire offense just like Edwards has and the same goes for punishing switches Dillingham is an assassin when a big is switched out on him you see that screen here the big switches up and because of dillingham’s speed that big Defender start to retreat and once he shifts his weight back here the Sharpshooter is going to make him pay with a pullup jumper and even if the big man isn’t shuffling back to prevent the drive Dillingham has that range where they have to be super active to get up here and prevent him from walking into a jumper that’s just something Minnesota didn’t get out of their backup point guards last season Monte Morris isn’t a non-shooter but when he gets the space off this this screen he’s not comfortable stepping into that three consistently when those excellent screens from go Bear lead to slow offensive possessions and mid-range jumpers they’re going to waste the wolves have one of the best screen Setters in the league they should be generating better looks of him and despite all the great things that Morris and Jordan mclin can bring to a team they don’t have the offensive punch that this Timberwolves team needs to suppl me their crazy team defense for Minnesota that pull-up shooting is such an intriguing skill set to possess because it gives them another punch in the same way that Edwards does but there’s also the potential there for Dillingham to develop the shooting craft coming off ball screens that Mike Conley has with the 17-year veteran he’s a master when he’s manipulating Defenders and setting up open pockets of space to fire from and and that became a massive part of Minnesota’s offensive package last season with dillingham’s sick pull-up shooting touch and Conley mentoring him on how to toy with Defenders to get those clean looks off the Wolves might be able to keep that pick and roll shooting weapon in their Arsenal for another 10 Seasons or more the real kicker here is that Dillingham is a supreme shooter off the catch as well he’s going to have plenty of opportunities to prove that that he can operate as a shooter and a scorer off the dribble but when he’s going to be playing alongside Edwards and Carl Anthony towns and even another high volume scorer like Nar Reed it’s imperative that he can make catch and shoot Jumpers in a number of ways again this kid is a remarkable shooter off the catch he knocked down 47.7% of his catch and shoot threes in his freshman season shooting 2.8 of them per game that’s Elite levels and having a reliable spot up sniper creates more opportunities for him to fit within Minnesota scheme right away and he’s got that on ball Equity but his ability to torch teams as an off ball scorer is going to be super valuable as well Minnesota shot 39.9% from Deep on catch and shoot jumpers last season which was actually the third best percentage in the league but they only shot 22.9 of them per game and that ranked 25th League wide in volume at times it was complete non-shooters like Kyle Anderson turning down open looks in favor of drives into traffic and a barrage of missed shots and unnecessary turnovers and at other times it was Morris favoring those pull-up mid-range shots instead of firing off quick catch and shoot jumpers and even Carl Anthony towns was guilty of turning down looks to drive recklessly into danger Dillingham isn’t going to come in and wallpaper over all of Minnesota’s offensive cracks from the first minute but he’s the archetype that they need of a player who can both light it up on the ball or be the beneficiary of that scoring gravity that Edwards towns and even go bear provide he’s going to seek out space he’s going to run off screening actions and he’s going to make shots whether there’s a hand in his face or not that’s going to be a refreshing change of pace for Minnesota’s reserve unit next season and hopefully an extra layer of dynamism for the starters in the future so that’s the shooting that’s what Dillingham is banking on in the NBA the swing skills however are the playmaking and the finishing at The Rim if he hits on those then Minnesota are going to get a true game changer for a long time with Dillingham the feel anticipation and ability to read defenses as a playmaker kind of flies under the radar because of that explosive scoring he’s so quick and he’s so sick with his handle that he really can create advantages for himself but it was important to see how he leverage that into points for his teammates during his Lan year at Kentucky Dillingham doesn’t really have the strength or the size to bully his way through Defenders or see over the defense to make plays but his superpower is his speed his shiftiness with the ball and the way he can punish a defense for overreacting to those things so there’s a few things that I like about dillingham’s passing the first is how he works in pick and roll it’s all about making defenses pay for panicking about his own shooting ability so when the ball screen comes here he sets his man up perfectly with the sick crossover that forces the Hedge to come out into a trap and as soon as his man slips into the lane that has opened up Dillingham is finding him with the kind of bullet pass that he loves again the most important thing is how his fancy handles are also functional he sets his Defender up with the dribble going one way pulling it back forcing the ball Defender into the screen and the screening Defender up into the ball and then he’s got the vision and the touch on the pass to find his teammate who really should do a lot better with that and then it’s about the counter moves when the defense shifts the Gap help across to tag the rle man diving to the rim to stop that pass Dillingham can quickly adjust and find the open shooter waiting in the slot obviously Dillingham is going to need some seasoning in the league before he truly harnesses that vision and creativity and turns it into consistent success as well but he’s got the tools there to be a really fun point guard in the pick and roll I think I’m even more excited about the way he injects Pace into a game with his passing though especially in transition or as an off ball driver when he mixes his special quickness with his ability to read the floor and crumble defenses you can really see Dillingham at the head of some fast and exciting offenses whether it’s flying out in transition diming out of the secondary break or just dusting his man in the half court by attacking Closeouts and then finding his teammates Dillingham is a conductor of fast and fun offense and he really does it with his playmaking almost as much as he does it with his shot making he’s not the methodical scientist type like Mike Conley and he certainly has the tendency to turn it over more often with that eccentric decision making but he’s going to bring a different wave of playmaking into Minnesota’s often lifeless offense it’s going to be really fun to see him get out and run with ant Edwards Jaden McDaniels and Nar Reed so the more skeptical parts of dillingham’s game are his finishing at the rim and his defense I mean the rim attacks are just a mixed bag on one hand he’s got that quickness and that handle he’s got that crazy creativity and he’s got some pretty insane touch on his finishes that’s obviously going to hold him in good stead in the lead leag because players with those traits often become respectable Rim scorers as they grow up in the league the problem with Dillingham is the size and it’s always going to be the size he’s 6’1 he’s barely scraping 170 lbs and all of the creativity and all of the Touch won’t stop NBA rim protectors looming over him and bodying him up we’ve already seen that happen at the Collegiate level it really is fun to watch him Glide to the rim or Shake guys out of their shoes to get to the rim but Dillingham made just 55.3% of his shots at the rim and registered a pretty Grim 27.1 free throw rate he’s got the layup package but there’s too many Rim attacks where Dillingham is pushed off his spot or struggles to get all the way to the rim and finish over stronger and bigger Defenders even if he starts out as a bad finisher at The Rim I do expect him to get better as he gradually improves and gets older and bigger but I’m not entirely sure the same can be said for his defense not only is Dillingham still small and still too light on that end of the floor his recognition of screens and how to navigate them is really poor and even when his size doesn’t seem to be an issue he gets blown by way too easily and doesn’t have the athletic tools to recover and make plays after his Defender gets a step on him it just feels like there are so many possessions where he is left chasing a scorer as they Walt their way to the rim there’s no doubt that this issue is going to be his biggest one at the NBA level the players he guards are going to get bigger and better and more Adept at hunting him down on switches of course there is a team in the NBA that can insulate a bad Defender and it is the Timberwolves Rudy goar cleans up a ton of mist F at The Rim McDaniels Alexander Walker and Edwards are going to take the toughest assignments when they’re out there and that should allow them to hide Dillingham off the ball where he can be a little bit more impactful as a pest in the passing lanes and Chris Finch has proven tenfold that he’s an elite defensive coach who can put a scheme in place that wins games still Dillingham isn’t a perfect player and that shows up most on that defensive side of the ball even with his flaws it’s hard to think of a better outcome for the Timberwolves this offseason than snagging Rob Dillingham they needed shot creation and Electric Shot making and they got it they needed someone who can get downhill as a scorer and a playmaker and they got it and they needed pace and they got that as well there’s a ways to go for Dillingham to become one of the few super small players who end up a true Difference Maker on a great team but he’s got the tools to do it as much as anybody does thanks again for watching how and grows Please Subscribe for more Timberwolves offseason content