The Chicago Bulls are granting Rob Dillingham the wish he always dreamed of while on the Minnesota Timberwolves: Playing time. It sounds silly, but it’s true. When he was in Minnesota, Dillingham struggled to get on the floor. But now that he’s in Chicago, he’s getting the chance to play much more consistently.
For a player as young as Dillingham, there’s nothing more important than playing time. Before he can prove anything, he needs to get on the court. And he never really got the chance to do that with the Wolves. But since the Bulls are in the midst of a rebuild, he has plenty of chances to play.
That’s exactly what he needs.
Rob Dillingham is starting to play even more for the Bulls
During his year and a half with the Timberwolves, Dillingham found himself buried on the bench. It wasn’t completely his fault, but the chances to earn real minutes just weren’t there on a consistent basis.
In his rookie season, Dillingham appeared in 49 games for the Wolves, but he played just 10.5 minutes per contest. He rarely saw opportunities to play a real role in the rotation.
Then, through the first half of his sophomore campaign, Dillingham’s minutes dropped even more. He appeared in 35 games with the Wolves before getting traded, and he only played 9.3 minutes per contest.
But now, he’s getting real run in Chicago. Through his first eight games with the club, Dillingham has gotten 20.3 minutes per contest, which is almost double what he was getting in Minnesota.
And lately, those minutes have kicked up even more. Dillingham has played at least 23 minutes in each of his last three games.
While he was with the Wolves, they were trying to win a championship. They had guys like Mike Conley and Donte DiVincenzo ahead of him in the rotation, and he was never able to earn his keep.
But the Bulls are rebuilding. They’re one of the worst teams in the East, and they sold a ton of assets at the deadline. Dillingham is in a great situation to earn his place on the floor.
Unfortunately, Dillingham hasn’t been particularly efficient in his short time with the Bulls. In eight games, he’s averaged 7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.5 steals. But he’s only shooting 37.9% from the field and 21.4% from deep on 1.8 three-point attempts per contest.
Still, if Dillingham wants to grow and improve at the NBA level, he needs to play. And that’s not something he was doing much of in Minnesota.
The Bulls are giving him that chance.