Monday night featured another maddening game for Minnesota Timberwolves fans. One week after dropping a key contest to the Indiana Pacers, the Wolves were looking to return the favor on the Pacers' home floor. Instead, Indiana completed the season sweep of Minnesota behind another stunning performance from Obi Toppin. His second 20-point game with six made threes in a week lifted the Pacers over the Timberwolves.
Coming into the evening, Anthony Edwards was questionable to play with a right thumb laceration. He did end up suiting up, but finished with just 17 points and shot a poor percentage. His injury undoubtedly played a part in his down night. The Timberwolves' leading scorer for the game was none other than Naz Reid off the bench.
Reid put up 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting and made three of his six three-point attempts. It was another fantastic night for the 2024 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, something fans in Minnesota have become accustomed to seeing. Reid's performance was his 19th game this season with at least 20 points. However, it was also a reminder of the fact that he tends to be a huge boom-or-bust player.
Naz Reid is a boom-or-bust player
This is not exactly a secret. Reid is a great player overall, but his performances do tend to fluctuate between the extremes. In addition to his 19 games of at least 20 points this season, he also has 18 single-digit scoring nights to his name in 2024-25. Let's look at even more numbers to help us fully understand the scope of this concept.
In 22 games this year, Reid has shot 55% or higher from the floor, an impressive mark. But in 19 other contests, he shot 35% or lower. This shows us just how much Naz can be a wild card on any given night. When he is hitting shots, he's an extremely valuable piece that generates offense in a hurry. When he is not, he can still contribute in other ways, but his usefulness does become diminished when he is ice cold.
What does this mean for Minnesota moving forward? It points us to the fact that like Reid, the Timberwolves' expectations for the playoffs cannot be properly measured. If Naz gets on a hot streak, it could be a good sign for this team to go deep into the postseason once again. Similarly, if the Wolves are performing like they did during their eight-game win streak, another conference finals appearance could be in the cards. But the question remains: Which version of Reid, and of the Timberwolves, will we get?