The Minnesota Timberwolves head back to the Cox Pavilion (bigger arena) Tuesday evening to face the Philadelphia 76ers in their third game of NBA Summer League. The Sixers roster two rookies they drafted in the 2024 NBA draft in Jared McCain (16th) and Adem Bona (41st). The latter just signed a “Gupta Special” last week and has a connection to Wolves rookie, Jaylen Clark. The 6’8” wrecking ball of a rim-runner shared the court with Clark at UCLA in the 2022-2023 season. Meanwhile, undrafted forward Justin Edwards played alongside Rob Dillingham both as first-year freshmen at Kentucky.

Another notable player for Philadelphia is the explosive athlete, Ricky Council IV. The second-year wing led their team in scoring during the Salt Lake City Summer League last week, notching 18.7 points on sterling .447/.421/.875 splits. He posted another 24 points during the Sixers first game in Las Vegas last week.

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The Development of Dillingham

Rookie Rob Dillingham’s second game in a Timberwolves uniform went much better than his first. After a four-point debut on 2/12 shooting, Dillingham came out guns blazing on Sunday scoring eight points on 3/3 shooting in the first two minutes of the game alone. He went 2/11 the rest of the game as his up-and-down offensive performance in Las Vegas continues.

Now that the 19-year-old has had two games under his belt, one in each arena at UNLV, it’ll be interesting to see if he can string together a more efficient scoring effort. He’s struggled finishing inside the arc (4/17) as he’s adjusting to playing against bigger and stronger defenders. The Sixers boast just one player shorter than 6’3” (McCain), so Dillingham won’t get it any easier.

Some have been encouraged by the rookie’s defensive effort, yet disappointed by his lack of technique and skill. The box score will show three steals and one block through two games of action, though the eye test will show a lot of activity without a lot of direction. The struggles on that end of the court were to be expected, but hopefully he will only get better from here.

Perhaps most encouraging has been his ability and focus to command an offense. He has hardly been a chucker and has been intentional with the ball in his hands. Dillingham has accumulated 13 assists and just two turnovers so far. Some of his dimes have been rather impressive. Hopefully head coach Chris Hines feels he’s ready to play more than 27 minutes a game.

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Minott and Miller Trying to Make their Marks

Many Wolves fans anticipated one of third-year forward Josh Minott, or second-year forward Leonard Miller, to impress this summer given their experience in this setting. Both players performed well as the focal pieces of the Wolves summer league a year ago, but they have yet to make a bigger leap this time around.

Minott has looked like the same player we’re used to seeing. A larger Corey Brewer-type of chaotic force on the floor, for better or worse. His jumpshot looks smoother, yet he’s shooting just 1/7 from perimeter. His (lawn mower) motor is still great, but he’s turned it five times including several wild transition fumbles. He’s averaging 10 rebounds a game, but he’s mostly trying to outjump opponents with wavering defensive focus. This is his third summer league and you would hope he would be dominating opponents. Instead, his box score shows averages of 13.5 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2.0 stocks on .333/.143/.857 splits.

Miller has had an even rougher go at it. The 20-year-old is averaging a measly 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds a game while suffering a minor eye injury that limited him to only 16 minutes in the opening game. Most concerning has been his continued lack of defensive awareness and effort. He had a relatively encouraging season on offense with the Iowa Wolves last year, but it was that same lackadaisical defense that was the glaring area of improvement. He possesses all the athletic tools to be an effective player on that end of the court so it will be up to the coaching staff to demand more from him.

Summer League Playoff Race

Only four teams will move on to a playoff bracket in Las Vegas. They will be determined based on the win-loss records from the initial four-game schedule, with the tiebreaker being head-to-head record, then followed by total point differential (PD). At the time of this preview, the Wolves are currently one of 12 teams that are undefeated, and one of seven teams that are 2-0. They boast a PD of +9.0 which puts them at sixth in the standings. The Sixers are 1-0 and play Monday night against Portland Trail Blazers. This will put them on a back-to-back situation against the Wolves where they could potentially rest certain players.

On Thursday, Minnesota will face the current top seed Houston Rockets team. They have been electric to watch, headlined by the highflying sophomore, Cam Whitmore, and the impressive number three pick of the 2024 draft, Reed Sheppard. Both are averaging 22.5 points per game and look too good to be playing in summer league. The Wolves will first need to take care of business against the Sixers Tuesday evening if they want a shot at their first summer league title.

UPDATE: The 76ers lost a close game against the Blazers Monday night. Their leading scorer, Council, posted 18 points in a game-high 33 minutes. It has yet to be announced if he, or Philadelphia’s top draft pick McCain (29 mins), will be active tomorrow against the Timberwolves.