DiVincenzo will likely be the starting point guard for the foreseeable future. He started 10 games at point guard — and played some of his most productive basketball last season — when he was starting over Conley before a turf toe injury sidelined him.
“Mike is obviously way more a classic point guard,” Finch said. “Donte can handle for sure. He creates pace. He does get out and run. He’ll push the ball on the outlets. He unto himself is kind of a pace setter for us where Mike isn’t quite as much. Obviously he’ll have to step in and handle at the one from time to time. We have confidence in him to do that.”
As for Dillingham, he didn’t play at all Wednesday as Finch went 10 deep into his bench. With DiVincenzo and Conley struggling to get a rhythm, Finch turned to Bones Hyland for fourth-quarter minutes because he thought Hyland’s size could help on the defensive end at a time the Wolves were having trouble containing Portland’s bruising drives. He finished with two points. Finch said Dillingham’s DNP-coach’s decision was not indicative that Dillingham had to do more in practice to crack the rotation.
“It’s early on still,” Finch said. “As you see, I’m gonna leave myself license to go anywhere I want with the guys. That includes who we might start, who we might finish with, who we play along the way. Everybody has to stay ready. Everyone’s going to contribute to winning here. We’re not singling out guys individually for reasons that they didn’t play.”
When the game entered crunch time, Finch opted to not go with a traditional point guard at all. Terrence Shannon Jr., who played 25 minutes and had 10 points, closed the game along with the starters instead. That’s a continuation of how Finch coached last season, where those who finished the game weren’t necessarily those who started it.
“He was playing really well,” Finch said of Shannon. “He had the ability to get by people and that’s what we needed. We needed someone who could get downhill and get by the pressure.”
