The Minnesota Timberwolves have made tons of noise in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, led by a stingy defense. After sweeping the Phoenix Suns in the first round, Minnesota had a second half for the ages on Sunday, en route to knocking off the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 on the road. The Timberwolves overcame a 20-point deficit on Sunday and outscored the Nuggets 60-37 in the second half.
For Minnesota, they’re back in the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years. Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, and company are set to face Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks in what should be a heck of a series, beginning on Wednesday night.
What can always swing games at this sort of stage, and in the playoffs in general, can be how the “other guys” respond, though. Minnesota has had considerable contributions from their complimentary players throughout the season and in the playoffs, and in this upcoming series versus Dallas, that’s something to keep an eye on once again.
In that realm, a player who could help swing things in Minnesota’s favor over the course of the series is definitely Naz Reid, who has given them quite a jolt this year and in the postseason.
Reid has had an outstanding season for Minnesota, and he’s made his mark on the playoffs.
Reid had 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per outing this season for the Timberwolves, and had a career year as far as three-point shooting, as he converted 41.4 percent of his shot attempts from deep. As it pertained to his shooting clip altogether, Reid’s true shooting rate was 59.5 percent in the regular season.
With what Reid did throughout the year for the upstart Timberwolves, which included being a quality defender, he was named the Sixth Man of the Year for the 2023-24 season. As he’s provided for them often, he’s given Minnesota a spark in these playoffs, too, and one could foresee that versus Dallas as well.
Below are Reid’s playoff splits to this point through 11 games, leading into the Western Conference Finals. It’s reasonable to mention him being one of Minnesota’s X-factors during the season and in this playoff run.
| Reid’s 2024 Playoff Averages | |
|---|---|
| Category | Stat |
| PTS | 10.4 |
| 3PT% | 31.8% |
| TS% | 55.2% |
| TRB | 3.6 |
| DREB% | 16.5% |
| BLK | 0.7 |
Whether he’s been playing with either Rudy Gobert or Towns in the frontcourt for stretches, Reid is a versatile player who can be an energizer for Minnesota.
He had averaged 10.9 points in the Denver series, and, even with him being largely off from three, he still found ways to give Minnesota a needed boost in that series. He was big down the stretch in Game 7 as well and posted 11 points, four rebounds, and two blocks in 22 minutes.
In this upcoming series for Minnesota, Reid could be a hard matchup for Dallas to handle in his minutes. He turned the corner as a perimeter shooter this season, as was aforementioned, but Reid is a more than capable off-the-bounce scorer in set offense and in transition situations.
He can take advantage when defended by bigger players as a driver and situational cutter, and when smaller players or more perimeter-oriented forwards are on him, he has the requisite strength and dexterity to capitalize. And in addition to that, Reid makes smart plays as a situational roller.
With those things in mind, Reid is the type of multifaceted bench scorer who can make a difference and feasibly swing momentum in games, even on this upcoming WCF stage. With his offensive skill set, he’s going to be hard for Dallas to account for. Outside of P.J. Washington, Reid’s on and off-ball abilities could make him especially tough for the Mavs to guard here, particularly without Maxi Kleber available.
Now, one will have to see how much of an opportunity Reid gets in these games, as Towns and Gobert are going to have their share of minutes, and they’ve been crucial for Minnesota’s interior and help defense in the playoffs. But, to Reid’s credit, he has been solid in his own right on defense, and he has given the Wolves some rotational rim protection as well, and if one of Towns or Gobert has foul trouble, Reid’s no stranger to stepping in, and assisting Minnesota.
Even with the stars in this WCF garnering their share of the conversation, and rightfully so, one shouldn’t overlook a great bench player in Reid, who has made a difference in multiple ways for the Timberwolves.
