Naz Reid still functions as somewhat of a cult hero inside Target Center even if his game and following have grown too big for that status.
RandBall: With Naz, Donte and NAW, Wolves have 6th, 7th, 8th Men of the Year
The Timberwolves’ bench depth hasn’t been tested this year, but their bench quality has been a huge asset. It was on display once again in a comfortable win over Charlotte on Monday.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 5, 2024 at 6:54PM
The versatile Timberwolves big man won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award a season ago after being a bench catalyst (and starting lineup fill-in at times) for a team that reached the Western Conference Finals.
Reid is again doing “Two Words” things, but he has company. With Reid, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Donte DiVincenzo, the Wolves might have the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Men of the Year on their roster. Their impact was on display again in a rout of Charlotte on Monday, and their collective presence stands as a sturdy guardrail against slippage for a starting lineup still retooling after the Karl-Anthony Towns trade.
I talked about the monster games for all three players on Tuesday’s “Daily Delivery” podcast.
Reid had 25 points and nine rebounds in just 26 minutes, posting an absurd plus-33 for the game (meaning the Wolves outscored Charlotte by 33 points when he was on the court).
DiVincenzo, also a plus-33 in the 114-93 victory, filled up the stat sheet as he continues to thrive in a combo guard role: 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
NAW is an almost absurd plus-73 for the season now in just seven games off the bench, continuing his invaluable role from a year ago.
DiVincenzo and Alexander-Walker are the types of versatile wing players that are extremely valuable in the modern NBA. They also give the Wolves a certain amount of insurance against a slow start from Jaden McDaniels.
While plus-minus is an imperfect stat, McDaniels’ minus-47 for the season stands out. Much of that (minus-29) came in a disastrous game against Denver in which NAW (plus-27) took his spot in closing lineup that helped the Wolves rally for a victory.
Other teams have better starting lineups than the Wolves, though any first five that includes Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle is going to be in good shape. You would be hard-pressed to find many teams with a better first eight, and I doubt any team has a better first three off the bench.
That’s led to a strange paradox whereby the Wolves and coach Chris Finch have frustrated their fans by typically using just those eight — and not promising young players like Rob Dillingham, Terrence Shannon Jr. or Josh Minott — in most games.
Monday, then, was a rare game where everyone could go home happy. The Big Bench Trio was so good that the game was essentially over early in the fourth quarter, giving Target Center fans a long look at Dillingham and Co.
Here are four more things to know today:
- Also on Tuesday’s show, Andrew Krammer joined me to break down Vikings film. Of note: Getting Jordan Addison more involved plus how much of Sunday’s defensive success was because Joe Flacco was just that bad?
- The Gophers women’s basketball team cruised to a win in its opener. With decent health, this will be an NCAA tourney team by the end of the season.
- Former Vikings and Packers pass rusher Za’Darius Smith is headed from Cleveland to Detroit. The Lions, already frontrunners in the NFC North, just got an upgrade after losing star Aidan Hutchinson.
- The red-hot Gophers football team, winners of four in a row, will be in focus on Wednesday’s podcast with Randy Johnson.
Heading into Sunday's game against the Vikings, the Bears have lost four in a row with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and a shuffled offensive staff. But looks can be deceiving.
