Thursday night just went from bad to worse for the Minnesota Timberwolves in their 110-105 road defeat to the Toronto Raptors. With the Timberwolves chasing the game while down by four with 11.4 seconds left, Naz Reid ended up banging knees with the returning Scottie Barnes and immediately crumpled to the ground in pain.

That did not look good at all for the Timberwolves big man; in the immediate aftermath of falling to the ground, he slapped the hardwood in frustration and then clutched onto his left knee. The worst part is that the game was nearly over, and the Timberwolves' chances of winning weren't exactly good at the time of Reid's injury.

It was a struggle for Reid on Thursday night, as he scored just two points and hauled in four rebounds in 22 minutes of play before sustaining what looks like a serious injury. The Timberwolves will be hoping that this won't require a lengthy absence, especially considering that Minnesota isn't exactly playing its best basketball at the moment.

As a result of their defeat to the Raptors, the Timberwolves fall to 8-7 on the year — solid enough, but not quite the level they were at last season. Minnesota has had to adjust the way they play following the blockbuster trade in the offseason that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks, and they haven't quite found a consistent rhythm — with five of their defeats on the season coming against teams with a below .500 record.

Related Minnesota Timberwolves NewsArticle continues below
Timberwolves' Chris Finch and Anthony Edwards from this season and this emoji 😤 surrounding the photo
Timberwolves ‘mission’ propels Anthony Edwards and Chris Finch hits historic mark
Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert looking angry with VS symbol in the middle while looking at Pacers' Andrew Nembhard
Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert, Pacers’ Andrew Nembhard ejected amid altercation
Magic Johnson looking serious and spitting fire out of his mouth. Anthony Edwards next to him
Magic Johnson fires back at Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards with ‘attack’ message

Reid was ticketed by many to play a huge role in compensating for the loss of Towns and his offensive versatility at either big man spot. Thus, it would be a major loss if he were to be out for a considerable period of time.

Timberwolves' options if Naz Reid were to miss time due to injury

If Naz Reid were to need a significant period of time to recover from a knee injury, then Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle should get more minutes, and perhaps in situations when they need floor-spacing, they will opt to put Randle more often at the five with Jaden McDaniels at the four.

The Timberwolves aren't exactly trusting of their bench at the moment; they ran an eight-man rotation on Friday night with Mike Conley nursing a toe injury, although they may have to do so now that their frontcourt depth is being challenged. Perhaps Luka Garza could crack the rotation as well.