After going down with an ankle sprain in the Wolves' 116-104 win against the Phoenix Suns, many people in the fanbase, whilst obviously disappointed that Reid got injured, were intrigued by the possibility of Joan Beringer getting a chance to get real minutes in Reid's absence.
Chris Finch even went so far as to say that with Reid being out, Beringer would get rotational minutes.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. In a blowout win against a Utah Jazz team missing nearly their entire healthy rotation, Beringer only received minutes in garbage time. In their next game against the Trail Blazers, Beringer didn't play. This decision left fans extremely confused, especially since it seemed the Wolves lacked what Beringer brought in that loss.
With Naz Reid out, Joan Beringer simply needs to play
I understand that Beringer is an extremely raw prospect and has major trouble defending without fouling. But in minutes where Rudy Gobert is off the court, the Wolves are getting obliterated on the glass, something Beringer could really help with.
This season, during his stints with the Iowa Wolves, Beringer has progressively gotten better each game. His averages in the eight games he's played with them are 15.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. Furthermore, in his limited NBA minutes, he's shown signs that he can contribute.
With Julius Randle having a bad rebounding season by his standards, and Jaden McDaniels being a pretty inconsistent rebounder (sometimes he'll have nine, sometimes he'll have two), that leaves the next best rebounder to be who? Donte DiVincenzo? That might be an issue considering he's 6-foot-4.
They're going to keep getting bullied by bigger teams if nothing changes
Their latest loss against the Portland Trail Blazers was a perfect summation of this. The Trail Blazers won the rebounding battle by eight, but their bigs were feasting on the glass. Donovan Clingan was unstoppable down low all game, posting 21 points and 12 rebounds. However, even worse for the Wolves, his backup, Robert Williams III, had 12 rebounds in only 17 minutes.
Four of these rebounds were offensive, creating deadly second-chance opportunities for Portland. Clingan also had five offensive boards, and Deni Avdija had three. The real telling stat in this one was that in less than half of the minutes, Williams III more than doubled Julius Randle's rebound total.
If the Timberwolves want to stop losing games due to poor rebounding during Naz Reid's absence, a start might be to give their 6-foot-11 rookie with freakish athleticism a chance at some real minutes. He'll never realize his potential if he doesn't get the chance, and now is the perfect time.