One of the biggest reasons the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to blitz the Los Angeles Lakers in a blowout Game 1 win was Naz Reid’s impressive shotmaking. As an athletic reserve big man with a smooth shooting touch, Reid is one of the Timberwolves’ greatest weapons when he’s in rhythm. Reid’s 23 points (6-of-9 from 3) in Game 1 were unsurprisingly instrumental in helping the Timberwolves separate themselves from the Lakers.
As the Lakers prepare their adjustments for Tuesday night’s Game 2, New Orleans star Trey Murphy III appeared on The Young Man and the Three podcast to discuss takeaways from all of the NBA’s first-round Game 1s so far.
When the discussion veered over to how the Lakers can better account for Reid moving forward, perhaps with some sort of advanced schematic adjustment, Murphy kept it really simple. He hilariously deadpanned that the Lakers should actually, you know, guard Reid because he was so open on many of his shots. Then, they’ll probably see better success from there.
Honestly, Murphy’s point is pretty salient. Kudos to him for delivering it in the funniest way:
Trey’s answer to this question lmaoopic.twitter.com/9mOtGvJ5kq
— Jason Gallagher (@jga41agher) April 21, 2025
While I’m certain the Lakers will enact some sort of wholesale game plan adjustment to try and slow Reid down in Game 2, none of it will matter if they don’t stay consistently attached to him this time around. As Murphy said, simply being in his airspace more often on this occasion will be the biggest possible adjustment the Lakers’ defense can make.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III had deadpan answer for Lakers’ counter to Naz Reid’s shotmaking
