Minnesota Timberwolves big man Naz Reid took a hard fall on Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns, and now it looks like he might miss a pretty big chunk of time.
According to Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, Reid broke his wrist when he fell and will miss “a significant period of time.”
The fall came late in the game against the Suns, when Reid attempted to throw down a massive dunk. He ended up missing and falling awkwardly on his wrist. He stayed in the game a bit longer, even shooting a few free throws, before leaving.
We don’t know exactly how much time Reid will miss, but a broken wrist isn’t a quick fix. And the timing here couldn’t be worse. The Timberwolves have been surging lately, and they’re now tied with the 39-38 New Orleans Pelicans for the first play-in spot. Staying above the play-in line for the final five games of the season is imperative, but then they also have to participate in the play-in, and (they hope) the actual playoffs after that.
And at least in the short term, they’ll have to try to do all that without Reid. He was in the midst of his breakout season in the NBA before his injury, and he’s been instrumental in the Timberwolves’ late-season rise.
Minnesota’s next game is on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers.