Wolves

Naz Reid works through foot injury, joining list of hobbled or sidelined Timberwolves

Jarred Vanderbilt, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jaden McDaniels and Malik Beasley all are also dealing with injury issues.

By Chris Hine

March 27, 2022 at 11:03PM

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum tried to free the ball from Wolves center Naz Reid in the first half Sunday. (Steven Senne, Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

BOSTON – Timberwolves center Naz Reid exited Friday's game against Dallas with an injury and went back to the locker room, but he wasn't back there for long.

Reid was back on the court to help the Wolves defeat the Mavericks. He said Sunday he aggravated a foot injury that bothered him earlier in the season.

"I'll be all right, though," Reid said. "I'm not tripping about it too much."

Reid, who played Sunday against Boston, isn't the only Wolves player trying to stay healthy enough to play. Jarred Vanderbilt has been playing through a left quad contusion. Karl-Anthony Towns has played through a right forearm contusion while Jaden McDaniels (high left ankle sprain) and Malik Beasley (left ankle sprain) were both out Sunday.

McDaniels is on the four-game trip and was going through exercises at shootaround Sunday, but it doesn't appear McDaniels is ready on this trip.

When asked if McDaniels could play over the next four games, coach Chris Finch said that would be "super optimistic."

"He's actually on this trip so he can get on-court work," Finch said.

Finch said recently the medical staff said McDaniels looked better than they thought initially and he has not worn a walking boot at practices or games. The team initially said it would re-evaluate McDaniels after two weeks, and McDaniels suffered his injury on March 14.

As for Beasley, who also made the trip, Finch said he is considered more day-to-day. His ankle sprain is less severe than McDaniels' and he could play at some point on the road trip. The Wolves have a showdown with Denver, the team they are chasing for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, on Friday. If the Wolves win that, not only will they gain a game on the Nuggets, they will also own the tiebreaker over them with their third head-to-head victory.

Edwards stepping up defense

Finch has praised Anthony Edwards' defense in the wake of McDaniels' injury, with Edwards getting more opportunities to guard the opponents' best players.

"We talked to him when Jaden went out about how he would really be required to step up and take these big matchups more often, and he's been doing it all season," Finch said. "I think he's really enjoying the challenge, doing a great job."

Finch said the assignment increases Edwards' competitive drive and with the benefit of time, Edwards has been able to iron out some of his rookie defensive ticks.

"He's been better across the board in everything defensively," Finch said. "As all young players come into the league, there's certain things that they have to learn to do that maybe they've never been required to do before. Last year was the crazy COVID season with not a lot of training camp, not a lot of practice, not a lot of reps. So the more he gets to experience it, the better he's been able to get at it."

Prince fined for gesture

The NBA fined forward Taurean Prince $15,000 for making an obscene gesture on the court during Friday's win over Dallas. Prince made the gesture at the end of the third quarter, the league's release said. Prince and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic appeared to exchange words at the end of that quarter.