Why Rob Dillingham, Luka Garza didn't play in fourth quarter against Wizards

Coach Chris Finch 'didn't think they were very good in the second half.'

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch watches from the sidelines during the second quarter against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Jan. 30, 2025. / Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

As the offense dried up in the fourth quarter on a night the Minnesota Timberwolves were without Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, two of their young scoring threats — Rob Dillingham and Luka Garza — never checked back into the game.

Neither was injured and both saw extended minutes earlier in the night. So why did neither Dillingham nor Garza make an appearance in the fourth quarter despite a near four-minute stretch in which the Wolves missed six consecutive shots and turned it over twice in what eventually became a 105-103 loss to the Washington Wizards Saturday at Target Center?

"I didn't think they were very good in the second half," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said of Dillingham and Garza. "I didn't think that they were very good. I gave them a little bit of a run, and then I was really trying to save all our guys for the fourth if I possibly could, just more for matchups than anything else. Maybe could've gone back to him in the middle of the fourth, maybe could've given us a spark, but I thought there were — I thought (Dillingham) was really good in the first half, but in the second shift, I didn't think he got a lot accomplished. But that's how it goes when you're a young player like that."

Dillingham had seven points and six assists in the first half, but shot 0 for 4 and had three fouls and a turnover to just one rebound and one assist in 6 minutes, 20 seconds of action in the third quarter. Garza was 0 for 1 and had one assist in 3 minutes, 39 seconds of time in the third quarter. Finch only played six players in the fourth quarter: Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Joe Ingles, Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert and Jaylen Clark; Conley, Alexander-Walker, McDaniels and Gobert all played the entire fourth quarter, while Clark subbed in a couple times for Ingles, who played over 10 minutes.

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Finch has tended to have a shorter leash with his young players, particularly if they're not living up to expectations on the defensive side of the ball. Josh Minott played just 12 seconds against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday after losing Bradley Beal on a backdoor cut and fouling him for the and-1. He was immediately subbed off after that and only saw end-of-game minutes against the Utah Jazz on Thursday. Minott didn't get any minutes on Saturday against the Wizards.

The times Finch has been reluctant to play Dillingham have been due to defensive matchup concerns for the undersized guard. Garza has never been known as a defensive big, though he's played better on that end in recent games. Clark, who's only seen meaningful minutes in the last three games, has been quite impressive defensively, which is likely why he earned the fourth-quarter time Saturday. It's clear the pathway to playing time for the young guys is on the defensive end.