Naz Reid’s fourth quarter excellence in Game 1 helped the Timberwolves grab a 1-0 series lead. What changes did he make to his play from the first half to the second half to find success?
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Naz Reid was crowned the NBA’s Sixth Man Of the Year for the scoring punch he brought off the bench all year. Through 81 regular season games he averaged a career-best 13.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game on 47.7/41.4/73.6 shooting splits while averaging 24.2 minutes per game, also a career-high.
The LSU product was vital in helping the Timberwolves secure the third seed in the Western Conference and the franchise’s second-best regular season record of 56-26. He also helped keep Minnesota afloat in the race for the top seed in the conference when Karl-Anthony Towns went down with a torn left meniscus in March.
In the 14 games where he was inserted into the starting lineup due to Towns’ injury, Reid averaged 17.6 points, seven rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game on 46/42.3/62.5 shooting splits in 29.3 minutes per game. The Wolves posted a 10-4 record over the 14 games, which equated to a 71.4% win percentage — a 58-win pace.
The versatile big man has posed a nightmare matchup for opposing defenses all season long, and he is a big reason why Minnesota has the bench advantage in this Western Conference Semifinals matchup with the Denver Nuggets.
Having a better bench than your opponent will always play large when it comes to winning a singular game, let alone a seven-game series. To leverage this advantage, it requires the reserves to actually play well. As consistent as Reid was during the regular season, he has faltered for the most part throughout this playoff run. But he flipped the script in the second half against the Nuggets and powered the Wolves to a 106-99 victory to steal a game on the road and nab a 1-0 series lead.
What were the differences between his play in the first half and the second half?
Reactive Reid In The First Half
Naz only attempted three shots in the first two quarters, which made sense given the flow of the game; Anthony Edwards was on a heater and notched 25 of the team’s 40 total first half points.
It wasn’t the lack of shots that was the issue, it was the manner in which Reid took them. The dynamic big man has always played with a high degree of confidence and has never allowed any defensive scheme or defender on opposing rosters dictate his shot diet or how he attacks within the flow of the offense, but the first half against Denver was a polar opposite of how he usually plays.
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This possession begins with Edwards and Rudy Gobert running a pick-and-roll on the right wing with Reid spaced out to the right corner. The gravity Gobert has on the roll forces Justin Holiday to tag Gobert as the low man which leaves Naz open in the right corner. Edwards makes the proper read and swings the ball over to the former undrafted prospect forcing a hard close out from Holiday.
Naz pump fakes the long-range attempt and Holiday leaves his feet. Reid attacks and gets to the rim, but he forces up an awkward layup with his off hand that falls off the cylinder.
It’s not pulling the trigger on the 3-pointer or the ugly attempt at the rim that were the problem on this possession. It was the fact that Reid rarely is reactive to a defense. Typically, when Naz gets the ball he is either hoisting up 3-point attempts with no hesitation or is attacking the open gaps in the defense. He doesn’t do this with reckless abandonment to the detriment of himself and the team; he does it with instilled confidence.
This possession was the total opposite of that. Reid doesn’t often use ball fakes on the perimeter to attack off the dribble. This action shows that he either wasn’t confident in the shot or that he was pressing, attempting to do too much and complicating the game.
Shying away from contact on a layup attempt is also a stark contrast from what he regularly does. When he attacks and gets in the heart of the defense or plays through his post touches he uses his large and agile frame to bully smaller and slower defenders to get to spots that result in high percentage looks.
This possession is an example of what I am referring to. Instead of using a ball fake here, Reid is decisive and penetrates right away. Similar to the other possession, it’s not one decision that is alarming. Rather, it’s Naz opting to do things he regularly doesn’t do. NBA defenses have not gotten the memo that Reid is a proficient shooter from beyond the arc. It’s shocking that he didn’t shoot this trey considering how much space he has when he first catches the pass. Reid’s bread and butter from beyond the arc is catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts. Edwards set the table perfectly and delivered a pass to Naz’s shooter’s pocket.
The Nuggets do not have a defender capable of containing Naz, so he can get to whatever he wants to on the offensive end. Reid needs to play within himself and do what he has normally done throughout his career to increase the odds of the Wolves moving onto the Western Conference Finals.
Dating back to the first-round playoff matchup between these two teams last year, there was a lot of chatter that if the Wolves had Reid coming off the bench, the series could have played out differently, and there’s validity to it. His fourth quarter showing in Game 1 of this series was critical to Minnesota winning the game, and proved that the discourse of him swaying the series is true.
Reid’s Decisive Dominance In the Fourth Quarter
Naz absolutely went off in the fourth quarter and ate the Nuggets alive with a flurry of buckets. Entering the fourth quarter of Game 1, Reid’s playoff career-high in points was 13. He broke that in one quarter on Saturday, scoring a team-high 14 points in the period and was a +5 in the nine minutes he played. He went 6/7 overall from the floor and connected on both of his 3-point attempts. His play in this quarter propelled the Wolves jumping out to a 1-0 series lead. Without Reid’s impact, Minnesota is likely facing a deficit to begin the series.
Besides the actual scoring punch, Reid played a style of basketball more representative of the campaign that earned him the Sixth Man of the Year award. He looked like the Naz Reid that Timberwolves fans have come to know and love.
Here are three consecutive shots from Naz to begin his fourth quarter. The first one is Reid operating out of the post with his back to the basket. Big Jelly uses three powerful dribbles to pin Holiday on his heels and hit a smooth spin move over his right shoulder that is too tough to contest.
This second possession begins with Naz faking a dribble hand off to Conley and it catches the Nuggets defense off-guard. Jamal Murray is now tasked with defending Reid on the perimeter in isolation. This is essentially impossible for Murray because he doesn’t have the size or strength to contain Naz on the drive.
Two different bumps from the big man create all the separation he needs as he’s able to rise up and find the bottom of the net on another layup with zero contest from the defense.
This third possession against Aaron Gordon shows a similar pattern of Reid playing with confidence and believing nobody can stop him. Gordon is no slouch, he is 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds. Naz uses his crafty handle to get Gordon leaning east-to-west and goes into his body on the shot attempt. Even though it doesn’t convert into a bucket, the confidence to attack a slow footed Gordon and attempt to go through him and not shy away from contact like he did in the first half is important.
This is the conviction that Reid needs to play with. Playing into his strengths of being stronger and more agile than most defenders he’ll see attempting to check him will pay dividends for himself, and in turn, the Wolves, especially if he’s going to consistently run against Denver’s bench unit.
This 3-pointer is that bread and butter I referenced earlier, and this quick trigger is what makes Reid such a lethal shooter. His ability to knock down these shots at a high percentage helps, sure, but having one of the ultimate green lights and taking advantage of it is going to be critical in this series, especially if there’s a game in which one of Edwards or Towns struggles to score.
Compared to the first 3-point attempt embedded earlier, Reid just shoots the ball right away. He is on the opposite wing but he is the same distance from beyond the arc and the closeout from Aaron Gordon is slow and the Nuggets forward never really gets a hand up. Naz is oozing confidence in this attempt. He doesn’t wait to see what the defense does and doesn’t let Gordon dictate what he’s going to do. He sets the tone and does what he wants.
The offensive plan for Reid is super simple, and it will kill the limited bench that Denver possesses. Put up shots from outside off catch-and-shoot opportunities, expose smaller, slower defenders through a crafty handle, and play through contact at the rim.
It makes sense for a young player participating in only the third playoff series of his career to think he has to do more in a higher stakes environment. If Naz Reid trusts that everything that made him so great all season can make him great in the the playoffs, too, the Wolves may be dancing into the next round convincingly.