NBA Rumors: Wolves' Naz Reid Suffers Broken Wrist Injury Ahead of 2023 Playoffs

As the Minnesota Timberwolves fight to secure a spot in the playoffs or play-in tournament with five games remaining in the regular season, they will likely have to do so without Naz Reid.

Per The Athletic's Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski, Reid is expected to "miss a significant period of time" after suffering a broken wrist in Wednesday's loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Reid was injured in the fourth quarter when he used his hand and wrist to brace himself after being fouled on a dunk attempt by Bismack Biyombo.

The Timberwolves officially listed Reid as questionable with a left wrist injury for Friday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers when they released an injury report yesterday.

It's unclear if Minnesota had received Reid's X-ray results before releasing that injury report. It would seem unlikely he would be able to play with a broken wrist, though it's not impossible.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum told B/R's Taylor Rooks in August he played through the playoffs last season with a non-displaced fracture in his wrist originally suffered in a February game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Reid is in the midst of his best season as an NBA player. The 23-year-old is averaging 11.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 68 appearances for the T-Wolves.

The extended absence by Karl-Anthony Towns due to a calf injury led to Reid taking on an increased role for head coach Chris Finch. His 18.4 minutes per game is the second-highest total of his career (19.2 in 2020-21).

Towns' return to the lineup last week does make it easier to navigate the potential loss of Reid, but this could put pressure on Luka Garza to play more minutes behind Rudy Gobert.

Reid has played at least 20 minutes in each of the past four games and at least 19 minutes in eight straight games.

The Timberwolves (39-38) are currently tied with the New Orleans Pelicans for seventh in the Western Conference standings. They have split their first two head-to-head meetings and play one more time on the final day of the regular season (April 9) in a game that could determine playoff seeding based on tiebreakers.

Three of Minnesota's final five games are against teams in the playoff or play-in tournament mix, including the Lakers, the Brooklyn Nets on April 4 and the Pelicans.