Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham will go head-to-head for the 1st time as opponents tonight

Grab some extra coffee throughout the day, Big Blue Nation — we’ve got some late-night basketball to watch.

Tonight at 11:00 p.m. EST on ESPN, a pair of Kentucky lottery picks will go head-to-head for the first time as opponents in the NBA. Reed Sheppard and the Houston Rockets (2-1) will take on Rob Dillingham and the Minnesota Timberwolves (2-1) in Las Vegas for Summer League. Sheppard, in particular, has been one of the biggest stars in Sin City over the last week while Dillingham is beginning to hit his stride.

The former Wildcats have appeared in three Summer League games so far, but tonight will have some extra juice to it for both. Below are their per-game averages along with shooting splits.

Sheppard: 20 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, three blocks, and 1.3 steals in 32.8 minutes | 49 FG%, 38.5 3PT%, 77.8 FT%

Dillingham: 9.3 points, 6.7 assists, three rebounds, and one steal in 28.8 minutes | 27.8 FG%, 25 3PT%, 83.3 FT%

Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham play each other for the first time today 🍿 pic.twitter.com/hfKIQ25M0v

— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) July 18, 2024

Sheppard has been grabbing headlines every time he’s hit the hardwood for the Rockets. The No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft was arguably the best player on the floor in his first two games — both wins for Houston. He finally hit a wall (if that’s what you want to call it) in his third outing, shooting just 6-17 overall, but still managing to put up 15 points, four rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Not too shabby for a “bad” game…

As for Dillingham, he’s struggled with his shooting so far, going just 10-36 overall (3-12 from deep) through his three games played. That being said, the No. 8 overall pick is making an impact elsewhere. He’s accumulated 20 assists to nine turnovers and has Minnesota sitting on a 2-1 record.

This game will actually be important for the upcoming playoffs. The top four teams in this event (out of a possible 30) will advance to the semifinals set for Sunday, July 21 with the championship game taking place on Monday, July 22. Currently, five teams are 3-0, meaning the Rockets and Timberwolves have to win tonight’s game for a chance to advance to the playoffs — which former ‘Cat will come out on top?

But even if neither makes the playoffs, the remaining 26 teams will participate in a consolation game on either July 20 or July 21. Reed and Rob will be on their job together again tonight, just not in the Kentucky blue and white.