On Friday, Rob Dillingham saw himself receiving meaningful fourth quarter minutes, something that has been rare of late. He didn’t score, but overall, he did some positive things on the court.
Chris Finch on Rob Dillingham having one of the best games of the season against OKC Friday
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) December 21, 2025
“Well I’m very proud of how he rebounded the ball, he had 6 rebounds, defensive rebounds for us… he always does a good job of playing with pace against Oklahoma City, handles their… pic.twitter.com/ozfGqt6CZU
Sunday saw the 20-year-old Dillingham receive his second DNP-CD in the last six games. With Mike Conley returning to the lineup after a four-game absence, it’s evident for now that a fully healthy Timberwolves team does not have Dillingham in its rotation.
10 players saw time for the Timberwolves on Sunday, but not Dillingham
In what was an awful first half against the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks, Minnesota overcame the 12-point deficit by playing much better on both ends over the final 24 minutes in their 103-100 victory. For the first time in five games, the Timberwolves had everyone available to play.
That hadn’t happened since December 8 in an outing against the Suns. That was also the last game before Sunday in which Dillingham didn’t see any action. It has been a very disappointing season for the second-year point guard. Still, he at least was receiving spot minutes as the only other game he didn’t play besides the Phoenix and Milwaukee ones, where he was available to came back way on opening night against the Trail Blazers.
Would he have seen some time Sunday if Chris Finch’s ejection on Friday warranted a one-game suspension? That fourth quarter playing time (nearly six minutes) that Dillingham received came courtesy of Micah Nori, who took over the reins for the Timberwolves about midway through the first quarter after Finch’s two technicals.
No second-year jump
About four minutes into the second quarter on Sunday, Jaden McDaniels was forced to exit with left hip pain and didn’t return. It’s unclear if he will need to miss any future contests, but even if he did, I wouldn’t expect Dillingham to return to the rotation. McDaniels was out for 32 minutes of playing time, and Dillingham didn’t enter the game.
Minnesota was missing a lead guard when Conley was out. That is why Dillingham was playing, and it would likely take (for now) an absence of one of the team’s point guards for him to get on the court. Bones Hyland hasn’t been perfect since Finch put him ahead of Dillingham in the club’s pecking order, but he has scored with much more frequency than Dillingham has.
The eighth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Dillingham is averaging just 3.7 points in 10.6 minutes during his 25 appearances. His scoring efficiency wasn’t great as a rookie, and it’s become even worse this year. Turning 21 years old on January 4, there’s certainly still time, but it’s crucial that he begins turning the corner soon, or the Timberwolves may decide to move off of him via trade.