Naz Reid is inevitable.
Reid looked more like a solid-bodied 5 coming out of Louisiana State University in 2019. However, the much slimmer and athletic Reid of the past four years has jellied and weaved his way through traffic to minutes as a stretch 4.
However, if Britt Robson’s recent interview with Chris Finch is any indication, Reid may even play more minutes at the 3 this year.
Reid’s ability to play the 3 will hinge on the ability to guard in closeouts. Still, Reid already showcased in his minutes with Rudy Gobert last year that his help defense and assistance in rim protection can be a crucial piece for Minnesota’s defense.
“I’d love it. I’d love to go as big as we possibly can,” Finch said about a three-big lineup with Reid, (then) Karl-Anthony Towns, and Gobert.
“Maybe Joe Ingles at the 1,” he joked.
While Finch isn’t serious about a full jumbo five-man lineup, there’s some genuine weight to his words in playing a three-big lineup.
Even with former Knicks big man Julius Randle inserted into Towns’ place, the trio of Reid, Gobert, and Randle arguably constitutes three of Minnesota’s four best players.
Randle is a proven scorer and an underrated playmaker. Reid didn’t luck his way into being named the Sixth Man of the Year. To his credit, Gobert can be a weapon for an offense with solid screens and lobs. They could pound their way inside against smaller lineups while retaining some shooting and playmaking.
The Wolves may ask Reid to shoulder a slightly larger playmaking load.
“We do need Naz, I think, to get back to more passing,” Finch said. “I think he sees the floor very well – I think it’s elite. I think he’s been on this track to prove he can be this scorer; it is like he’s wired to score. But I think he can do more playmaking, whether it be quick decisions where it is just simple (passes to the) side stuff or with his passive passing unlocking simple shots.”
However, their defensive fit is the biggest uncertainty and most tantalizing.
Gobert has always been and will continue to be a force not to be reckoned with in the paint. Randle’s musculature makes him an ideal candidate to guard the Nikola Jokic-type of player that Towns successfully handled for Minnesota in the past.
That duo brings ample size and strength to cause headaches and force kickouts for opponents.
Adding Reid to that mix could increase Minnesota’s ability to protect the paint. Hopefully, Reid will still read and react as a help defender and ensure Minnesota will effectively close out should the opponents pass out to the perimeter.
Reid’s long arms could’ve helped the Wolves in their Western Conference Finals series against the Dallas Mavericks. Still, Minnesota instead opted to guard the all-too-frequent Luka Dončić pick-and-roll without perimeter help.
That prevented Dončić from leveraging his elite vision and passing to find catch-and-shoot threes for a team that was red-hot from behind the arc. However, it meant Dončić could toy with Minnesota’s drop coverage and bully his way through Jaden McDaniels to throw lob after lob:
Not every team Minnesota will face has a perennial superstar and pick-and-roll maestro like Dončić. Still, to reach the next level, like the NBA Finals, the Wolves may need to tighten up against those actions. Reid’s exemplary help defense is a natural answer, and this three-big lineup may be how Minnesota takes that test.
“Guarding close-outs would be the biggest challenge,” Finch said about this theoretical lineup. “The actions – he did a good job of defeating actions and I think you could switch out of a lot of actions with the right partners (teammates on the court). But it would be that now you are closing out against even more skilled guys.”
Reid can fly in from the wings or the corner to help stymie a drive or a lob. However, he must also be able to close out against the league’s best small forwards. Reid has to dig against a drive and still be able to dash out to his man should the driver pass out. He’ll need to effectively close out against smaller, quicker players at the 1 and 2 should Minnesota’s help come from either of those two spots, and he must cover for them.
The following clip displays Reid’s quick feet in a closeout (and also happens to show an instance where he cuts off a drive to the rim):
The next clip is less inspiring but shows the type of play the Wolves could ask Reid to make more of in a three-big lineup.
Minnesota has Kyle Anderson matched up against Scottie Barnes, who people considered a poor three-point shooter at the time. In similar scenarios this season, Randle could fill this role. Towns is at the 5 guarding non-shooter Precious Achiuwa, with Gobert the likely fill-in for Towns in this situation.
Reid is matched up against OG Anunoby, a 37.6% career three-point shooter he must respect.
Minnesota is unable to stop the drive at first, but Reid’s help forces the kickout. Anthony Edwards is at the top of the key and could have slid down to help Reid. However, he’s a long distance away.
Anunoby misses, but not because of Reid. It’s an incredibly tough play for Reid to make, but one that he may be tasked with often in a three-big lineup. He has the quickness and length to do so, and should he be able to make that play with regularity, he’d become an even more important piece for the Wolves.
While Finch acknowledges Reid defended the 3 better than the 5 last season, pick-and-rolls are just one of the many actions Reid would be tasked with defending in a relatively foreign role.
“But I have every confidence that (Naz) can do it – we’ll see,” he said. “The ironic thing is with this year’s roster, we may not need him to play there as much, but it might be interesting to play him there.”
Through scoring, playmaking, and defense against smaller players, Reid should be able to convince Finch to play three bigs. It would be another example of his evolution since joining the Wolves as an undrafted player out of LSU.
