2 studs, 1 dud from Timberwolves’ preseason win vs Lakers

The Minnesota Timberwolves took on the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com arena in their second to last preseason game Wednesday night. Minnesota took home the win 118-113 in Los Angeles to move to 4-0 in the preseason.

Through four preseason games, we have learned quite a bit about what the Timberwolves will look like this season. Certain role players have showed that they can produce meaningful minutes, and the rotation is slowly but surely coming together.

While winning is always nice, fans shouldn’t put too much stock into an undefeated preseason record thus far. With other squads simply figuring out where certain pieces fit, many teams will be a much easier out than in the regular season.

With that being said, there’s still some legitimate conclusions we can come to from watching preseason action. Here are two studs and one dud from the Timberwolves’ win over the Lakers.

Stud: Naz Reid

In 27 minutes of action, the backup big man Naz Reid put on an absolute clinic while matched up with all-world talent Anthony Davis. Finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds, Reid looked like the best player on the floor at times.

With Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns out of the starting lineup on Wednesday, Reid started alongside Jaden McDaniels in the frontcourt and showed that he meant business.

This kind of showing is great news for Timberwolves fans wondering what non-Rudy/KAT lineups could look like this season. If Naz Reid is replicating this performance on a regular basis, it could be a scary sight for the rest of the league.

Reid’s 3-of-6 three-point shooting coupled with his 9-of-17 mark from the field overall made for an extremely efficient outing. He showed once again that he can be a major contributor where needed this season.

Dud: Anthony Edwards

One Timberwolves starter who had an off game was Anthony Edwards. He shot 2-of-12 from the floor and turned the ball over twice in 26 minutes of game time.

Again, it’s not worth reading too much into a performance like this in preseason, especially considering how solid he’s been in the Timberwolves’ first three games. But one thing that was certainly noticeable was his low efficiency.

We know that Anthony Edwards is the Timberwolves’ star of both the future and the present. So as his offensive repertoire expands, he’s going to be toying with new moves and experimenting with shots that are more difficult.

Naturally, he’s going to have moments like Wednesday night where his shots don’t fall right away and he ends up with a less-than-flashy stat line. Scoring five points on 17% shooting is obviously abysmal, but the good thing is we know this won’t be the norm for him.

Shooting a hair under 43% from the field through his first two professional seasons, we are well aware that Ant is far from a bad shot-chucker. In a game that didn’t count toward the standings, it’s rather refreshing to see him empty the clip and just stay loose, rather than tensing up and letting misses get to him.

Edwards left Wednesday’s game healthy and uninjured, and that’s really all we can ask for in a preseason game from the young superstar.

Stud: Luka Garza

The most unexpected big performer Wednesday night was undoubtedly the Timberwolves’ training camp signee, Luka Garza. As a player who’s fighting for a roster spot, Garza certainly took a step forward in that department after his huge outing against the Lakers.

In just 12 short minutes, Garza poured in 15 points and four rebounds, grabbed a steal and nailed five of his nine shots from the floor. Luka didn’t do it while playing a typical big man’s game either, as he netted three of four shots from beyond the three-point arc as well.

It was an eyebrow-raising game for Garza that has to at least leave him feeling better about his chances of making the final roster. After being a late second-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Luka knew he would have to prove himself to have a chance at playing in this league.

While he had been mostly an afterthought on this roster until now, Garza certainly did enough to make the Timberwolves at least think twice before letting him go. Preseason is the time for players with an uncertain future to carve out a path for themselves, and it’s performances like this one that can give a player like Luka the shot they need.

Garza’s inside-out game that he showed glimpses of on Wednesday is what could give him a chance of remaining with the Timberwolves past the preseason.