Coach Chris Finch said in training camp that the basic philosophy guiding the Wolves' rotations was to have one of either Karl-Anthony Towns or Rudy Gobert on the floor at all times.
On Sunday night in Oklahoma City, some foul trouble to Anthony Edwards altered the rotations, and Finch deployed a lineup in the fourth that featured neither Towns nor Gobert.
That lineup broke open a close game and allowed the Wolves to cruise to a 116-106 victory over the Thunder.
The lineup of Edwards, Jordan McClaughlin, Taurean Prince, Jaylen Nowell and Naz Reid took an eight-point lead to open the fourth quarter and expanded it to 22 with a 24-10 run. The Wolves (2-1) had hit just four three-pointers headed into the fourth quarter but hit six during that stretch alone. Edwards finished with 30 points for the second consecutive game and had 11 rebounds.
"That lineup, we just sharing the ball," Edwards said. "We don't care who's shooting. It's just fun out there, man. I love to see my teammates shine, man. I don't mind passing the ball for open shots. That five on the floor is the same way."
Nowell finished with 14 points, Prince had 11 while McLaughlin didn't score but was a team-high plus-23 for the night.
The other standout performance in that lineup was from Reid, who didn't play before checking in late in the third quarter. This encapsulates what Reid's role as the third center on the roster will likely be playing behind two All-Stars — inconsistent playing time, nights he doesn't play, but could be called to produce on a moment's notice. He handled that with aplomb Sunday in scoring 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting in his 13 minutes.
"It's tough. You try to cheer on your teammates and things like that. It gets tough, but it's all part of the process," Reid said of his role. "I've been in worse predicaments before, and I'm able to tough it out and do what I do. At the end of the day everybody on the team believes in me, and that's the biggest thing, that they all support me."