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Jaden McDaniels unimpressed with Nuggets after Wolves' playoff win: 'They're all bad defenders'

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The Athletic
2026/04/21 - 16:48 501 مشاهدة
Atlantic76ersCelticsKnicksNetsRaptorsCentralBucksBullsCavaliersPacersPistonsSoutheastHawksHeatHornetsMagicWizardsSouthwestGrizzliesMavericksPelicansRocketsSpursNorthwestJazzNuggetsThunderTimberwolvesTrail BlazersPacificClippersKingsLakersSunsWarriorsScores & ScheduleStandingsThe Bounce NewsletterNBA DraftPodcastsFantasyNBA OddsNBA PicksFirst-Round PredictionsHollinger's Playoff PreviewThe Bucks' Season From HellPlayer Poll: Who Will Win Title?NBA Playoffs Jaden McDaniels thinks his team has to attack the rim, and even if three-time MVP center Nikola Jokic is there, "We still more athletic than them." Matthew Stockman / Getty Image Share articleMinnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels is unimpressed with the Denver Nuggets’ defense. After the Timberwolves’ 119-114 win over the Nuggets on Monday, reporters asked McDaniels about the key to sparking the team’s offense. Attack Denver’s stars, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić, McDaniels said, before taking a beat and naming several other Nuggets players. “Go at Jokić, Jamal, all the bad defenders,” McDaniels said. “Tim Hardaway (Jr.), Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team — just go at them. They’re all bad defenders.” Jaden McDaniels, deadpan delivery, on what worked for the Timberwolves offensively. Jaden: Go at Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders. Tim Hardaway, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, their whole team.” Jaden: “Yeah, they’re all bad defenders.” pic.twitter.com/Lbjq7je9Fo — Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) April 21, 2026 McDaniels, 25, has averaged 15 points and shot 0 for 7 from deep in two games of the Timberwolves-Nuggets first-round playoff matchup. (The series is tied at 1-1.) During the regular season, McDaniels averaged 14.8 points and shot 41.2 percent from 3-point range. In Monday’s Game 2, Anthony Edwards led Minnesota in scoring with 30 points, followed by Julius Randle with 24. To McDaniels’ point, Denver ranked 21st in the NBA during the regular season in points allowed per game (116.9) and defensive rating (116.0). The Timberwolves were 12th in points allowed (114.6) and eighth in defensive rating (112.5). The Nuggets also forced the fewest turnovers in the league in 2025-26, with 11.8 per game. Minnesota has committed 12.5 turnovers per game so far in this series. The Wolves have also averaged 53 points in the paint through two playoff games after averaging 50.3 during the season. It’s a slight increase, but an edge McDaniels said his team should take advantage of, even if Jokić is protecting the basket. “They don’t got people that could defend the rim,” he said. “If (Jokić) is there, we still more athletic than them, and just got to be able to finish when we do. “Just sometimes you gotta know when to attack and when the right moments (are), and if it’s your time to shoot it or pass it. But either way, if you just break the paint, you’re gonna have a shot, or someone else is gonna be open.” Although McDaniels oozes confidence in Minnesota’s ability to exploit Denver’s defensive weaknesses, the Nuggets have had the Timberwolves’ number this season, going 3-1 against them before the playoffs. The Nuggets scored 125 points per game in those four games, while the Timberwolves averaged 120.25. Including the two playoff contests, Denver leads the season series 4-2 and has outscored Minnesota 121.6 to 117.5 points per game. Jokić’s defense has been a subject of debate throughout his career, with critics arguing that his slow feet and spotty rim-protection numbers make him a poor defender and supporters pointing to advanced metrics that suggest his defensive shortcomings might be vastly overstated. Gordon, however, is regarded as one of the league’s stingiest defenders. The versatile forward received six All-Defensive Team votes in 2023-24. Regardless, McDaniels’ comments are the latest salvo in a burgeoning Western Conference rivalry. In 2023, the top-seeded Nuggets beat a rising eighth-seeded Minnesota squad 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs, and Denver went on to win the NBA Finals. In the 2024 Western Conference semifinals, Minnesota and Denver went seven games before Edwards, McDaniels and former Wolves star Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 62 points in Minnesota’s series-clinching 98-90 win. “I don’t think there’s anything else to call it but a rivalry,” Edwards told reporters last week. “I think there’s a lot of rivalries in the league now, … and I think me and Denver is one of them.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms
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