Timberwolves: Oh the way you do the things you do, Naz Reid

The Minnesota Timberwolves, like any NBA team that is successful, is getting better than expected play out of some of the most unexpected places. We could bore you with a laundry list covering all of the special performances from the Timberwolves’ roster, but rather than ramble on and on, let’s focus on one of the key contributors of late for the Timberwolves, backup center Naz Reid, and why he is so vital for any hopes of a second NBA Playoff appearance for this team.

The Minnesota Timberwolves had to face the pragmatic challenges of what to do with the team when power forward Karl-Anthony Towns returned to the lineup. Well, we learned what the plan is, and the results are impressive.

Rather than toggle KAT between a power forward role when Rudy Gobert is on the floor, and the center position when Gobert exits the floor, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch played Naz Reid in that backup center role. That was almost foreshadowed by Coach Finch’s comments before the game:

And Naz Reid’s play shows up. Against the Atlanta Hawks, with Karl-Anthony Towns’ long-anticipated return, he played 26 minutes and put up 26 points, eight rebounds, and two steals to help push the Minnesota Timberwolves to victory.  But this was not a one-off by Reid by any means. He has really upped his production in the month of March, adding more than a point per game to his offensive production, and improving his season three-point shooting average of 33.5 percent to over 37 percent.

With Naz Reid filling in the gaps of the Minnesota Timberwolves rotations at the center position, Towns is freed up to focus on just playing the stretch-4 role. The fun should really begin when the Timberwolves welcome back Anthony Edwards to the lineup once more.

There are many possibilities for the Timberwolves now, and it’s all thanks to Naz Reid, and the way he do the things he do.