The Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to hold off LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers when they face each other on the basketball court on Friday night. LA is currently just a half-game behind the Wolves, with Minnesota occupying the seventh seed in the West. Unfortunately for the Wolves, they have been dealt a brutal injury right before Friday's game on the Naz Reid front.
NBA guru Shams Charania of The Athletic reported late on Thursday night that Reid has been diagnosed with a broken wrist and is now expected to be sidelined for an extended period:
“Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid has suffered a broken wrist and will miss a significant period of time, sources tell me and @JonKrawczynski. Tough loss as Reid is in the midst of his best season, averaging 11.5 points and 4.9 rebounds,” Shams wrote in his tweet.
Naz Reid is no star, but he's an undeniably important player for Minnesota's rotation this season. In 68 appearances this year, the 6-foot-9 center has averaged career-best numbers of 11.5 points on 53.7 percent shooting, to go along with 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 18.4 minutes per game. The 23-year-old is also connecting on 1.1 triples per game.
By the sound of Shams' report, the Lakers matchup will merely be the first of many missed games for Reid. In fact, it sounds like this is a type of injury that could require surgery. The worst-case scenario here is that this ends up becoming a season-ending injury for Reid. Hopefully, it isn't.