Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham - 2024 NBA Draft

[TheZachAttack]

Sheppard will steal all of the headlines and there’s no doubt that he looks like he has the type of skill set as a ball handler and shooter that is rare. I think he’s going to be a great NBA player. I agree that you shouldn’t shy away from him as a “1”. I do think that, similar to Curry, a lot of his offense will come from running around a big man as an off ball player creating space.

On Dillingham, have we discussed outside of Wolves forums how strong Dillingham’s natural feel for point guard skills are? Did he show this a Kentucky? In terms of natural feel for playing the “1” I have seen that level of skill on the Wolves since Rubio.

Rob manages the pace and pushes pace well in games — and has shown that he’s a pretty unselfish player and passer even in transition. In addition to this despite his slight frame and current physicality issues, he has basically never turned to ball over as a ball handler.

I think this is a really important skill because it leads to lots of easy buckets, more half court sets with more time on the clock, and a free initial action against a back peddling and cross matched defense.

This is one of the first skills that good point guards have and while it may sound easy I don’t think a lot of players are good at this. In addition, he’s really willing and able to make the quick first pass to get the set and action going and relocate off ball for a shot and/or come back from the ball off of that. This is another important PG skill and Rob has done this with ease.

The other skill set he’s shown is some elite processing and reading ability in two man game and when there are angle created through screens. In his highlights from last game, there are 3 variations of the same play where he either takes a pull up 3 or passes to the right player on time based on the way the action is being defended.

In 2-man game, teams are aggressively hedging and pushing him out for being able to turn the corner. He’s able to take a hang dribble, paralyze that defender or force him to make a decision, and then make the right read. And if you don’t go over the screen and show someone, he will pull up and cash. This is veteran stuff.

I think where RD has struggled is finishing at the rim and some consistency in which he can consistently through physicality to the rim. I do think this could take him awhile to learn how to do, but I think the other area of his game is his floater/lob game. Even if he can’t get to the rim, hitting his floater successfully will open up stuff in the paint.

He has shown abilities to beat his defender by a step or half a step with his handle and suddenness when he calls the screen over, rejects it when the defender is flat footed, and goes especially to beat bigs.

So RD does look smaller than I expected and I now believe will have some more rim scoring and physicality struggles than I expected. But he’s alway way better as a PG than expected. I think he is still figuring out the right ways to be aggressive within his playmaking duties.

What are the odds both of these guys are good PGs?

[EvanZ]

Let’s see if the Calipari Effect transfers to Arkansas.

[Colbinii]

Let’s see if the Calipari Effect transfers to Arkansas.

They have 2 ranked Combo Guard prospects coming in and Johnell Davis is a talented upper classman [5th year Senior].

They should be really deep this year.

[clyde21]

Let’s see if the Calipari Effect transfers to Arkansas.

They have 2 ranked Combo Guard prospects coming in and Johnell Davis is a talented upper classman [5th year Senior].

They should be really deep this year.

DJ Wagner transferred there too

[Klomp]

On Dillingham, have we discussed outside of Wolves forums how strong Dillingham’s natural feel for point guard skills are? Did he show this a Kentucky? In terms of natural feel for playing the “1” I have seen that level of skill on the Wolves since Rubio.

Rob manages the pace and pushes pace well in games — and has shown that he’s a pretty unselfish player and passer even in transition. In addition to this despite his slight frame and current physicality issues, he has basically never turned to ball over as a ball handler.

I think this is a really important skill because it leads to lots of easy buckets, more half court sets with more time on the clock, and a free initial action against a back peddling and cross matched defense.

This is one of the first skills that good point guards have and while it may sound easy I don’t think a lot of players are good at this. In addition, he’s really willing and able to make the quick first pass to get the set and action going and relocate off ball for a shot and/or come back from the ball off of that. This is another important PG skill and Rob has done this with ease.

The other skill set he’s shown is some elite processing and reading ability in two man game and when there are angle created through screens. In his highlights from last game, there are 3 variations of the same play where he either takes a pull up 3 or passes to the right player on time based on the way the action is being defended.

In 2-man game, teams are aggressively hedging and pushing him out for being able to turn the corner. He’s able to take a hang dribble, paralyze that defender or force him to make a decision, and then make the right read. And if you don’t go over the screen and show someone, he will pull up and cash. This is veteran stuff.

I'll be honest, in the first moments after trading up for him on Dillingham, I did not think he had this ability from the little I had seen and heard about him. But the more footage I looked up on Youtube - from Kentucky, from OTE, from Donda - the more I was convinced we got a steal because of his playmaking ability.

When you watch him from afar you see the flashiness and shiftiness. But when you sit down and actually watch him closely, you see that there is substance behind that style of play, which he uses to his advantage.

[Klomp]

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[FarBeyondDriven]

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just to be consistent, the Wolves had their 'A' roster going against the Magic's 'B' roster. Still nice to see him shake off the rust. Remember he was dealing with an injury

[Klomp]

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just to be consistent, the Wolves had their 'A' roster going against the Magic's 'B' roster. Still nice to see him shake off the rust. Remember he was dealing with an injury

Wasn't fully 'A' for Minnesota....no Terrence Shannon or Jaylen Clark.

[Klomp]

When will people stop sleeping on Kentucky (well, now I'll just call them Calipari) guards?

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[MemphisX]

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[Klomp]

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[FarBeyondDriven]

as predicted, neither are playing since both teams are trying to compete. Reed is buried. Dillingham can't even get on the floor. The Divencenzo trade killed any chance he had of contributing at least early on. Same thing is happening to Tyson and others. Too many young guys not enough minutes, even on contenders.

[Colbinii]

as predicted, neither are playing since both teams are trying to compete. Reed is buried. Dillingham can't even get on the floor. The Divencenzo trade killed any chance he had of contributing at least early on. Same thing is happening to Tyson and others. Too many young guys not enough minutes, even on contenders.

Yeah, this is what happens as the league continues to grow and has continued to grow but no expansion takes place.

This isn't 2005 where the best teams have 6-7 legitimate NBA players. Teams routinely have 8-10 guys who deserve to be playing real minutes in a rotation and another 1-2 young players who are talented enough to earn minutes but too inexperienced.

[TheZachAttack]

So Dillingham is looking pretty solid and doing all of the right things. He's the latest Kentucky player who all of a sudden in the NBA has a best skill that they didn't even really showcase in college.

Dillingham has a really natural feel for controlling and creating pace, creating flow in the half court, making the right reads in 2 man action, and finding bigs for lobs. The shotmaking has also translated despite his current frame. To me, the reason why the feel for the point guard skills matters so much is that this means Rob is a positive offensive player regardless of if he's making shots or not. The initial concern was that he would have to be a really consistent and elite shotmaker to get time on the floor given his size. For my money, he has the best "PG skills" of anyone on the Wolves since Rubio.

This is probably a hot take, but I think I would rather have Dillingham than Sheppard. They are both undersized, but Dillingham has a lot better dribble and is a lot more explosive. Dillingham can get to his spots easier and while both are actually underrated passers Dillingham to me looks better as a true point guard.

Sheppard might be a better shooter in a vacuum, but because Dillingham is quicker, more explosive, and has a better handle I think he can create advantages and open shots for himself better than Sheppard which is why you see the percentages differ. I think Sheppard will be good, but I think Dillingham is better

[The-Power]

I just noticed that Dillingham has played 205 minutes and taken 87 shots (incl. 52 from 2) in the NBA and has yet to shoot a single FT. That seems crazy. I wonder what the record is.

[KembaWalker]

I just noticed that Dillingham has played 205 minutes and taken 87 shots (incl. 52 from 2) in the NBA and has yet to shoot a single FT. That seems crazy. I wonder what the record is.

Sounds pretty similar to Nick Smith who outside of one 3 attempt outburst last week had shot 2 total in 320+ min

It’s like a perfect storm of factors for these scrawny combo guards in this era and this opposition. I think refs for whatever reason feel like they would be bailing them out if they gave em calls

[EvanZ]

So Dillingham is looking pretty solid and doing all of the right things. He's the latest Kentucky player who all of a sudden in the NBA has a best skill that they didn't even really showcase in college.

Dillingham has a really natural feel for controlling and creating pace, creating flow in the half court, making the right reads in 2 man action, and finding bigs for lobs. The shotmaking has also translated despite his current frame. To me, the reason why the feel for the point guard skills matters so much is that this means Rob is a positive offensive player regardless of if he's making shots or not. The initial concern was that he would have to be a really consistent and elite shotmaker to get time on the floor given his size. For my money, he has the best "PG skills" of anyone on the Wolves since Rubio.

This is probably a hot take, but I think I would rather have Dillingham than Sheppard. They are both undersized, but Dillingham has a lot better dribble and is a lot more explosive. Dillingham can get to his spots easier and while both are actually underrated passers Dillingham to me looks better as a true point guard.

Sheppard might be a better shooter in a vacuum, but because Dillingham is quicker, more explosive, and has a better handle I think he can create advantages and open shots for himself better than Sheppard which is why you see the percentages differ. I think Sheppard will be good, but I think Dillingham is better

I'm confused. You watched Rob Dillingham at Kentucky and didn't think he was a point guard?

[azcatz11]

So Dillingham is looking pretty solid and doing all of the right things. He's the latest Kentucky player who all of a sudden in the NBA has a best skill that they didn't even really showcase in college.

Dillingham has a really natural feel for controlling and creating pace, creating flow in the half court, making the right reads in 2 man action, and finding bigs for lobs. The shotmaking has also translated despite his current frame. To me, the reason why the feel for the point guard skills matters so much is that this means Rob is a positive offensive player regardless of if he's making shots or not. The initial concern was that he would have to be a really consistent and elite shotmaker to get time on the floor given his size. For my money, he has the best "PG skills" of anyone on the Wolves since Rubio.

This is probably a hot take, but I think I would rather have Dillingham than Sheppard. They are both undersized, but Dillingham has a lot better dribble and is a lot more explosive. Dillingham can get to his spots easier and while both are actually underrated passers Dillingham to me looks better as a true point guard.

Sheppard might be a better shooter in a vacuum, but because Dillingham is quicker, more explosive, and has a better handle I think he can create advantages and open shots for himself better than Sheppard which is why you see the percentages differ. I think Sheppard will be good, but I think Dillingham is better

I'm confused. You watched Rob Dillingham at Kentucky and didn't think he was a point guard?

?

He never played Pg at Kentucky

[clyde21]

Wth are you guys talking about? Dilly shared PG duties with Reed, he even averaged more assists per 100 than Reed.

if he wasn't a PG at Kentucky I wouldn't have had him #2 overall, that was his entire value proposition combined with the shooting juice.

[EvanZ]

So Dillingham is looking pretty solid and doing all of the right things. He's the latest Kentucky player who all of a sudden in the NBA has a best skill that they didn't even really showcase in college.

Dillingham has a really natural feel for controlling and creating pace, creating flow in the half court, making the right reads in 2 man action, and finding bigs for lobs. The shotmaking has also translated despite his current frame. To me, the reason why the feel for the point guard skills matters so much is that this means Rob is a positive offensive player regardless of if he's making shots or not. The initial concern was that he would have to be a really consistent and elite shotmaker to get time on the floor given his size. For my money, he has the best "PG skills" of anyone on the Wolves since Rubio.

This is probably a hot take, but I think I would rather have Dillingham than Sheppard. They are both undersized, but Dillingham has a lot better dribble and is a lot more explosive. Dillingham can get to his spots easier and while both are actually underrated passers Dillingham to me looks better as a true point guard.

Sheppard might be a better shooter in a vacuum, but because Dillingham is quicker, more explosive, and has a better handle I think he can create advantages and open shots for himself better than Sheppard which is why you see the percentages differ. I think Sheppard will be good, but I think Dillingham is better

I'm confused. You watched Rob Dillingham at Kentucky and didn't think he was a point guard?

?

He never played Pg at Kentucky

I will repeat myself because it didn't take (apparently).

I'm confused. You watched Rob Dillingham at Kentucky and didn't think he was a point guard?