Bones Hyland is making Timberwolves fans forget that Rob Dillingham ever existed

With Anthony Edwards out of action for the fourth straight game on Sunday due to a right knee injury, once again, the Minnesota Timberwolves needed a full team effort to overcome his absence. After one quarter, it looked like a lost cause as they scored just 14 points against one of the best teams in the Boston Celtics. 

Bones Hyland at least made a couple of baskets in that opening frame when no one else seemed to have it going. It continued throughout the game, and his play of late is essentially what Wolves fans thought Rob Dillingham would be providing for them. Undoubtedly, Hyland's emergence has made up for Dillingham not panning out.

Hyland continues to level up without Ant-Man

It was an impressive 102-92 win for Minnesota on Sunday, improving their record to 3-1 since Ant-Man has been sidelined.

Without their near 30-point per game superstar, scoring came at a premium, particularly in the first 12 minutes. It’s evident that the Wolves would not have had any shot to win this game without the exploits of Hyland.

The 25-year-old came off the bench for a team-leading 23 points in 27 minutes of game action. Seventeen of those points came in the second and fourth quarters, in which the Timberwolves outscored the Celtics by 23 in those two periods. Bones was a whopping plus-26 in the victory.

Trailing by one with less than 10 minutes remaining, Hyland scored on three straight possessions via a pull-up jumper, a 3-pointer, and two free throws. That pushed Minnesota to a four-point lead, and they remained ahead for the rest of the outing.

Sunday continued what has been an excellent stretch of basketball for Bones since Edwards went down. In the last four games, he has averaged 20 points and knocked down 13 3-pointers. There are still 10 regular season games remaining, but Hyland has cemented himself in the playoff rotation. Not bad for a minimum-salary player.

Helps ease the pain of Dillingham not working out 

Entering the season, Dillingham was the one expected to bring instant offense off the bench. That never happened as Dillingham was usurped by Hyland in the rotation, and he was eventually traded to the Chicago Bulls.

It should sting that the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft never worked out for Minnesota. He was expected to be their starting point guard for years to come, and as we know, that never panned out. With Hyland’s play, especially of late (plus adding Ayo Dosumnu in the Dillingham trade), it’s a lot easier to stomach.