The Rob Dillingham Thread

[KGdaBom]

Great human interest story with Dilly and TSJ.

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[Klomp]

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[winforlose]

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I think the most interesting part of RD’s journey this year will be watching his defense in season league and comparing it to his defense in game 82 and beyond. Contrary to some opinions, I expect him to make large strides based on the culture and mentors who can help him with the technical aspects.

[Klomp]

The more I watch, the more I get excited.

I think an underrated aspect of his "shifty" game is what seems to be an ability to avoid forceful contact. That's a big part of staying healthy for someone that size.

One thing I think you could see a lot from him early in his career is taking advantage of Gobert screens and pulling up behind him.

[winforlose]

The more I watch, the more I get excited.

I think an underrated aspect of his "shifty" game is what seems to be an ability to avoid forceful contact. That's a big part of staying healthy for someone that size.

One thing I think you could see a lot from him early in his career is taking advantage of Gobert screens and pulling up behind him.

In about 15 hours and change you will get to see him play for your Minnesota Summer Wolves. Hopefully he and TSJ have some nice chemistry.

[Klomp]

It seems like Dillingham is going to be more of a hybrid PG/SG. Need another prototypical PG on the opening day roster to go along with Conley (Morris, JMac, someone else, etc.). The Wolves have quite a bit of ball handling across all their positions, so it might not matter on a nightly basis during the regular season, but they are trying to put together a roster that can win in a variety of ways against a variety of teams - and still withstand injuries. Having Conley be the only prototypical PG on a roster would be very risky.

He’s going to have no idea how to organize or lead an NBA offense from day 1. He played almost exclusively with Sheppard at Kentucky, who played much more that role. However, you don’t draft a 6’1” 164 lb guard at #8 unless he’s your future PG. you have to give him that role behind Conley and let him learn.

So I was thinking about this notion today that has been shared before, that something must be wrong with Dillingham's PG skills because of how he was used in college.

Ummm does anyone remember a certain 7-footer who only attempted 8 3-pointers in college because his coach didn't let him shoot them? Calipari did something similar with Dillingham's "freestyling". I think that's why Cal gave it to Sheppard so often.

“I will tell you that he creates space for himself and his teammates as good as anybody I’ve coached,” he said.

https://www.on3.com/teams/kentucky-wildcats/news/john-calipari-rob-dillingham-creates-as-good-as-anybody-ive-coached/

[minimus]

It seems like Dillingham is going to be more of a hybrid PG/SG. Need another prototypical PG on the opening day roster to go along with Conley (Morris, JMac, someone else, etc.). The Wolves have quite a bit of ball handling across all their positions, so it might not matter on a nightly basis during the regular season, but they are trying to put together a roster that can win in a variety of ways against a variety of teams - and still withstand injuries. Having Conley be the only prototypical PG on a roster would be very risky.

He’s going to have no idea how to organize or lead an NBA offense from day 1. He played almost exclusively with Sheppard at Kentucky, who played much more that role. However, you don’t draft a 6’1” 164 lb guard at #8 unless he’s your future PG. you have to give him that role behind Conley and let him learn.

So I was thinking about this notion today that has been shared before, that something must be wrong with Dillingham's PG skills because of how he was used in college.

Ummm does anyone remember a certain 7-footer who only attempted 8 3-pointers in college because his coach didn't let him shoot them? Calipari did something similar with Dillingham's "freestyling". I think that's why Cal gave it to Sheppard so often.

“I will tell you that he creates space for himself and his teammates as good as anybody I’ve coached,” he said.

https://www.on3.com/teams/kentucky-wildcats/news/john-calipari-rob-dillingham-creates-as-good-as-anybody-ive-coached/

We can kind of anticipate Finch vision here by going through list of comboguards who were asked to play this role (6th man, bench scorer, instant offense guy) before for MIN:

- Jaylen Nowell: shifty enough, elite from short range, could not make a wide open 3, could not pass and defend
- Malik Beasley: not shifty, elite from long range, could not dribble, pass, defend
- Shake Milton: slow not shifty, could not make a 3pt shot. Main problem he supposed to be engine in offense, but he was more a brake
- Troy Brown Jr: shifty enough, good passer and defender. I think he was a better fit than Milton
- NAW: not shifty enough, one dimensional 3&D player (which is not bad!), who lacks consistency
- Bryan Forbes: he supposed to be a Malik Beasley replacement in offense, but he was a Malik Beasley replacement in DEFENSE, while his 3pt shot completely abounded him
- D'Angelo Russell: shifty, elite pull-up game, good passer and bad defender. I think his ideal role in NBA should be a 6th man in playoff team. Unfortunately, his ego was on another level

My conclusion is following: guys who had AT LEAST of one required skills (shooting, passing, dribbling) have showed that they can be successful despite bad defense (Beasley, Nowell, D-Lo, TBJ)

So the real question here is whether 19yo Rob is better at passing, shooting, dribbling than any of these guys? We will soon find out, but I believe that his role is well defined and waiting for him.

P.S. And I do believe that TSJ can grow in this role as well, who might not be the best scorer (like he did in Illinois) but instead as pure energy guy, who hustle, defend, can run in transition and hit open corner 3s. I feel like ideally it will not be Rob who alone lift offense, but instead combination of Reid, TSJ and Rob who all three play similar way:

- all three are shifty enough
- all three can play of the catch
- all three can attack off the dribble
- all three can shoot

I hope these guys form consistent triangle in offense and feed off each other. And this consistency will bend opponent defense, force them to adjust. The real problem is that only Beasley, Nowell were kind of able to integrate himself in bench unit. Milton, Forbes, DLo etc did not use Reid presence to create something. Guys that did the best to involve Reid were Anderson and McLaughlin. Now both are not in MIN. This role is there to take. And the moment I see DHO between Reid and TSJ, or Reid and Rob I will feel myself on 9th cloud of happiness.

[frankenwolf]

Extended out those stats a little more

College stats, per 100 possessions
Rob Dillingham 35.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 4.6 turnovers, 2.4 steals
De'Aaron Fox 30.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 4.4 turnovers, 2.7 steals
Darius Garland 33.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 6.3 turnovers, 1.7 steals
Kyrie Irving 36.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 5.1 turnovers, 3.0 steals
Malik Monk 33.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 3.3 turnovers, 1.6 steals
Collin Sexton 36.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 5.3 turnovers, 1.6 steals
Coby White 29.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 4.9 turnovers, 2.0 steals
Trae Young 40.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 7.7 turnovers, 2.5 steals

Thanks. Trae's points and assists are ridonkulous.

So are his TO's

[Colbinii]

Extended out those stats a little more

College stats, per 100 possessions
Rob Dillingham 35.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 4.6 turnovers, 2.4 steals
De'Aaron Fox 30.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 4.4 turnovers, 2.7 steals
Darius Garland 33.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 6.3 turnovers, 1.7 steals
Kyrie Irving 36.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 5.1 turnovers, 3.0 steals
Malik Monk 33.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 3.3 turnovers, 1.6 steals
Collin Sexton 36.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 5.3 turnovers, 1.6 steals
Coby White 29.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 4.9 turnovers, 2.0 steals
Trae Young 40.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 7.7 turnovers, 2.5 steals

Thanks. Trae's points and assists are ridonkulous.

So are his TO's

Yes, the more you have the ball and the more passing you do the more you turn it over. It isn't necessarily a bad thing though.

[m2002brian]

Rob Dime ing ham

[winforlose]

Rob Dime ing ham

RD for 3.

[Klomp]

He’s going to have no idea how to organize or lead an NBA offense from day 1. He played almost exclusively with Sheppard at Kentucky, who played much more that role. However, you don’t draft a 6’1” 164 lb guard at #8 unless he’s your future PG. you have to give him that role behind Conley and let him learn.

So I was thinking about this notion today that has been shared before, that something must be wrong with Dillingham's PG skills because of how he was used in college.

Ummm does anyone remember a certain 7-footer who only attempted 8 3-pointers in college because his coach didn't let him shoot them? Calipari did something similar with Dillingham's "freestyling". I think that's why Cal gave it to Sheppard so often.

“I will tell you that he creates space for himself and his teammates as good as anybody I’ve coached,” he said.

https://www.on3.com/teams/kentucky-wildcats/news/john-calipari-rob-dillingham-creates-as-good-as-anybody-ive-coached/

We can kind of anticipate Finch vision here by going through list of comboguards who were asked to play this role (6th man, bench scorer, instant offense guy) before for MIN:

- Jaylen Nowell: shifty enough, elite from short range, could not make a wide open 3, could not pass and defend
- Malik Beasley: not shifty, elite from long range, could not dribble, pass, defend
- Shake Milton: slow not shifty, could not make a 3pt shot. Main problem he supposed to be engine in offense, but he was more a brake
- Troy Brown Jr: shifty enough, good passer and defender. I think he was a better fit than Milton
- NAW: not shifty enough, one dimensional 3&D player (which is not bad!), who lacks consistency
- Bryan Forbes: he supposed to be a Malik Beasley replacement in offense, but he was a Malik Beasley replacement in DEFENSE, while his 3pt shot completely abounded him
- D'Angelo Russell: shifty, elite pull-up game, good passer and bad defender. I think his ideal role in NBA should be a 6th man in playoff team. Unfortunately, his ego was on another level

My conclusion is following: guys who had AT LEAST of one required skills (shooting, passing, dribbling) have showed that they can be successful despite bad defense (Beasley, Nowell, D-Lo, TBJ)

So the real question here is whether 19yo Rob is better at passing, shooting, dribbling than any of these guys? We will soon find out, but I believe that his role is well defined and waiting for him.

P.S. And I do believe that TSJ can grow in this role as well, who might not be the best scorer (like he did in Illinois) but instead as pure energy guy, who hustle, defend, can run in transition and hit open corner 3s. I feel like ideally it will not be Rob who alone lift offense, but instead combination of Reid, TSJ and Rob who all three play similar way:

- all three are shifty enough
- all three can play of the catch
- all three can attack off the dribble
- all three can shoot

I hope these guys form consistent triangle in offense and feed off each other. And this consistency will bend opponent defense, force them to adjust. The real problem is that only Beasley, Nowell were kind of able to integrate himself in bench unit. Milton, Forbes, DLo etc did not use Reid presence to create something. Guys that did the best to involve Reid were Anderson and McLaughlin. Now both are not in MIN. This role is there to take. And the moment I see DHO between Reid and TSJ, or Reid and Rob I will feel myself on 9th cloud of happiness.

I think something we can appreciate about Tim is that he is always looking for upgrades and looking for contingency plans within his blueprint for building a team. Even though his decisions might looking differently from what others would do, he's out there making moves and not spending his summers at his fishing cabin.

[m2002brian]

Rob Dime ing ham

RD for 3.

Rebounds a deepelement

[thinktank]

Rob’s gonna have to have hit a ton of floaters.

[winforlose]

Rob had a bad game 1. To be fair, it was just one game. Hopefully he is much better than 2-12. He needs to “be a goldfish.”

[BlacJacMac]

Rob had a bad game 1. To be fair, it was just one game. Hopefully he is much better than 2-12. He needs to “be a goldfish.”

You watched a different game than I did. I was super impressed with his decision making and ability to run the team. He flashed a few times on defense as well.

He struggled mightily shooting, but I think he was so focused on showing he's a PG that he was out of rhythm on many of his shots. But even so, he mostly took good shots. He just didn't make them. I'm not worried, he didn't become a bad shooter since being drafted.

There is a lot of good to take away from this game.

[TheZachAttack]

Rob had a bad game 1. To be fair, it was just one game. Hopefully he is much better than 2-12. He needs to “be a goldfish.”

You watched a different game than I did. I was super impressed with his decision making and ability to run the team. He flashed a few times on defense as well.

He struggled mightily shooting, but I think he was so focused on showing he's a PG that he was out of rhythm on many of his shots. But even so, he mostly took good ****. He just didn't make them. I'm not worried, he didn't become a bad shooter since being drafted.

There is a lot of good to take away from this game.

I agree I would say that my takeaway is that he showed surprising feel for controlling pace, initiating offensive sets, and getting the offense into the flow. This was arguably his biggest question mark on his true ceiling. Yes, there is the frame concerns and what that means for his defense and ability to finish all the way at the rim… but if he’s a tweener at his size the immediate best case is Jordan Clarkson/Anfernee Simons. If you have to play a PG with him that’s really tricky…

I knew that he could make the pass/read when there was 2 on the ball and I knew he can make the lob pass off his floater game and drives… I didn’t know he had a feel for the easy stuff and the managing the timing of all of that.

He also was mixing it up and controlling pace but mostly pushing temp which is generally good. Controlling tempo and timing of the flow of an offense isn’t an easy skill. It’s one thing to be able to make the flashy D Lo pass and pound the ball and get to your spots as a shooter… it’s another to manage the game well, have a feel for that initiation timing, play off of it in the flow relocating and then coming back as an off ball shooter AND then if the action and flow doesn’t generate anything communicating, demanding the ball, and coming off a elbow screen to get into an end of clock pull up shot that’s a “good” tough shot.

He didn’t make the shots but the least of my concerns is whether jump shots go in or not

[Sealab2024]

Rob had a bad game 1. To be fair, it was just one game. Hopefully he is much better than 2-12. He needs to “be a goldfish.”

You watched a different game than I did. I was super impressed with his decision making and ability to run the team. He flashed a few times on defense as well.

He struggled mightily shooting, but I think he was so focused on showing he's a PG that he was out of rhythm on many of his shots. But even so, he mostly took good shots. He just didn't make them. I'm not worried, he didn't become a bad shooter since being drafted.

There is a lot of good to take away from this game.

Yup, nerves got his legs today, he was short on the front of the rim all day long. That won't last, those were shots he can definitely make. He has better composure than I expected, had a few really nice moves he just couldn't finish, was repeatedly keeping defenders off of him with lightning quick changes of direction and throttling his pace up and down and was not anywhere near the defensive black hole some had claimed. Yes he needs a ton of strength but he pressed full court a couple times, kept ball pressure and even managed to get around a screen or two.

Not a terrible debut despite the tough shooting night.

[winforlose]

Rob had a bad game 1. To be fair, it was just one game. Hopefully he is much better than 2-12. He needs to “be a goldfish.”

You watched a different game than I did. I was super impressed with his decision making and ability to run the team. He flashed a few times on defense as well.

He struggled mightily shooting, but I think he was so focused on showing he's a PG that he was out of rhythm on many of his shots. But even so, he mostly took good shots. He just didn't make them. I'm not worried, he didn't become a bad shooter since being drafted.

There is a lot of good to take away from this game.

He struggled to get a step on anyone defending him. He struggled to get to the rim, was terrible at the rim, and his assists were not really traditional dimes. Most were just swinging the ball and the player catching either attacked or shot off the catch. I didn’t see Dilly perform as either a PG or SG in this one. But again, it’s game 1.