Wolves are missing Mike Conley, but his absence has led to Rob Dillingham's emergence

Dillingham has played more minutes, and set career bests, in the last two games.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham listens to Mike Conley during a timeout in the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Target Center in Minneapolis on Nov. 26, 2024. / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

It's clear the Minnesota Timberwolves are missing Mike Conley. Their starting point guard has missed the past three games due to a great left toe sprain, and the Wolves are 0-3 in those games, and offensive lapses have been apparent.

For the season, the Wolves are 12th in the NBA in offensive rating, scoring 113.6 points per 100 possessions. Over the last three games while Conley has been sidelined, they're 21st with an offensive rating of 109.2. But Conley's absence has led to more minutes for Rob Dillingham, and the 19-year-old rookie point guard is making the most of the opportunity.

Dillingham was a bright spot in Tuesday night's 117-111 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets. The rookie finished his night with 12 points, a career-high seven assists and a team-best plus-minus of plus-26. It was clear the Wolves were at their best when he was on the floor — and how important having a true point guard in the lineup is to their success.

When Conley has been out, it's either been Nickeil Alexander-Walker or Donte DiVincenzo in the starting lineup. Neither are a true point guard, and neither are at their best when responsible for the primary ball-handling duties. That much was clear by DiVincenzo's rough game Tuesday. He shot just 1 for 5 and turned it over thrice. After a particularly brutal stretch in the third quarter, in which he committed a bad foul away from the ball, then turned it over, he didn't see the court again.

Alexander-Walker had his own struggles at the point, the most glaring example coming in the second quarter when the Rockets trapped him, resulting in a turnover and transition bucket. But the Wolves' offense thrived when Dillingham was bringing up the ball, including a 9-0 run to start the second quarter, a 16-0 run from the end of the third and to start the fourth quarter and down the stretch of the fourth when Minnesota took its first lead since early in the second quarter.

With Mike Conley out tonight and Rob Dillingham struggling, the point guard-ing duties fall on Nickeil Alexander-Walker, shoe-horning him into a role that is not his best. pic.twitter.com/50XOohAYaM

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) November 27, 2024

Wolves coach Chris Finch acknowledged the offense looked different when Dillingham was on the court. "I think it's evident that our rhythm is affected," he said. Finch pointed to Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle "feeling like they got to do too much" when there's not a true point guard on the floor. Rudy Gobert said he thinks teams have realized that when Conley's not on the court, ball pressure slows down their offense. Dillingham, in growing minutes, has helped negate that.

And even the major concern about Dillingham coming in — his defense as an undersized 6-foot-3, 175-pound rookie — has held up pretty well. Dillingham has impressed Finch and the coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball.

"He knows he's giving up size at times, maybe strength too, but he's really competing," Finch said. "He's fighting his way through screens out there, getting up under guys, doing a really good job getting his hands on stuff."

Now it hasn't been all sunshine and roses, and that's to be expected from a rookie. Dillingham had three turnovers Tuesday, including a critical rookie mistake, turning it over to Amen Thompson, who made a transition bucket on the other end to tie the game at 102-102 with 38 seconds remaining. That was the score heading into the overtime session.

"I'm trying to earn (the coaching staff's trust). Probably not all the way there, I turned it over (102-100), we was up," Dillingham said. "You're gonna mess up, it's just the little things of being able to play through it and learn from it."

Dillingham has demonstrated that he's learning fast and on the fly. As his opportunities have grown the last three games, Dillingham is beginning to stack strong performances. He set a career high with 14 points against the Boston Celtics on Sunday and followed it up with a double-digit showing Tuesday when he also dished out seven assists. He's inquisitive, regularly asking Conley about opposing defenses, learning what works against different looks from the opposition.

“I try to learn from my teammates. Everyone else comes in every day looking like it’s easy, so I try to go with it like it’s easy too. So I just try to play my role and do the right things," Dillingham said.

Ultimately, Conley will be critical to the Wolves reaching the heights they believe they can reach this season, that much has been made clear over the last three games. With those losses, Minnesota fell to an uninspired 8-9 in its first 17 games. But at the same time, Conley's early-season absence might just be a blessing in disguise. It's forced Dillingham into the lineup, speeding up his development, and Dillingham's play might just be forcing Finch to keep him in the lineup. And having a true backup point guard in the rotation might be exactly what the Wolves need as the season progresses.

"Just able to get in the paint, knock down some big shots and give us a little swag is good, too," Gobert said. "It was good. It’s great for him to get that, to play in those kind of games and just learn because we’re going to need him in the future.”