Rob

Dillingham

Dillingham continues to be a reliable scoring option for Minnesota this summer ahead of his second season in the league. He didn’t attempt a three-pointer in this game, which was out of character for him, but it allowed him to score in other ways. Dillingham is clearly talented, but don’t expect him to be shutdown early. The extra reps are good for him.

Having finished Thursday’s summer opener with more turnovers than assists, Dillingham cleaned some things up on Saturday. While the assists increased from six to nine, the second-year guard’s turnovers decreased from seven to four. Terrence Shannon Jr. may be the player best equipped to step into the role vacated by Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Still, Dillingham will also have opportunities, especially since Mike Conley is not getting any younger.

Along with Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark, Dillingham is one of the returning players on Minnesota’s summer roster with a serious shot at earning rotation minutes next season. The Timberwolves lost Nickeil Alexander-Walker in free agency, and with Mike Conley not getting any younger, Dillingham will have every opportunity to earn more minutes at the point. Two areas where he’ll need to improve: finishing and ball control. In addition to committing seven turnovers on Thursday, Dillingham shot 1-of-8 from inside the arc. The good news is that he was 3-of-6 from three and posted a solid assist tally.

While Alexander-Walker’s play for the duration of the playoffs appeared to raise his ceiling heading into unrestricted free agency, Game 5 was a dud. He missed all eight of his shot attempts on the night, going scoreless for the first time this postseason. Alexander-Walker’s fantasy value next season depends on where he lands. If Minnesota can work something out and re-sign him, he’ll be a deep-league option at best after underwhelming from a fantasy standpoint. However, with the Timberwolves having Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr., the decision could be made that Alexander-Walker is too expensive to retain.

Dillingham has not played since April 11 against the Nets. He may be available for Game 3, but that does not mean the rookie will vault into the rotation. Dillingham has not reached double digits in minutes played since February 28.

Dillingham has been sidelined for the entire postseason so far, and it’s unclear if that will change moving forward. However, even when he is healthy enough to play, it is unlikely that he would enter the rotation.

Dillingham will remain sidelined for the start of the second round. The rookie’s continued absence does not impact the Timberwolves’ rotation, as he was not playing consistently before the ankle injury.

Dillingham is not in the rotation when healthy. His continued absence will not affect Wednesday’s game, as the Timberwolves aim to close out the series.

Dillingham’s continued absence does not impact the Timberwolves, as he was out of the rotation before spraining his ankle. A win on Sunday would give Minnesota a 3-1 series lead.

Dillingham last appeared in a game on April 11, but the rookie had fallen out of the Timberwolves’ rotation well before then. Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker will continue to play whatever minutes are available among Minnesota’s reserve guards.