{"id":1894909,"date":"2026-04-21T16:48:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1894909"},"modified":"2026-04-21T16:48:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:48:05","slug":"jaden-mcdaniels-unimpressed-with-nuggets-after-wolves-playoff-win-theyre-all-bad-defenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1894909","title":{"rendered":"Jaden McDaniels unimpressed with Nuggets after Wolves\u2019 playoff win: \u2018They\u2019re all bad defenders\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels is unimpressed with the Denver Nuggets\u2019 defense.<\/p>\n

After the Timberwolves\u2019 119-114 win over the Nuggets on Monday, reporters asked McDaniels about the key to sparking the team\u2019s offense. Attack Denver\u2019s stars, Jamal Murray and Nikola Joki\u0107, McDaniels said, before taking a beat and naming several other Nuggets players.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGo at Joki\u0107, Jamal, all the bad defenders,\u201d McDaniels said. \u201cTim Hardaway (Jr.), Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team \u2014 just go at them. They\u2019re all bad defenders.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jaden McDaniels, deadpan delivery, on what worked for the Timberwolves offensively. <\/p>\n

Jaden: Go at Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders. Tim Hardaway, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, their whole team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q: They\u2019re all bad defenders?<\/p>\n

Jaden: \u201cYeah, they\u2019re all bad defenders.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/Lbjq7je9Fo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) April 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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In Monday\u2019s Game 2, Anthony Edwards led Minnesota in scoring with 30 points, followed by Julius Randle with 24.<\/p>\n

To McDaniels\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

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The Wolves have also averaged 53 points in the paint through two playoff games after averaging 50.3 during the season. It\u2019s a slight increase, but an edge McDaniels said his team should take advantage of, even if Joki\u0107 is protecting the basket.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t got people that could defend the rim,\u201d he said. \u201cIf (Joki\u0107) is there, we still more athletic than them, and just got to be able to finish when we do.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust sometimes you gotta know when to attack and when the right moments (are), and if it\u2019s your time to shoot it or pass it. But either way, if you just break the paint, you\u2019re gonna have a shot, or someone else is gonna be open.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Although McDaniels oozes confidence in Minnesota\u2019s ability to exploit Denver\u2019s defensive weaknesses, the Nuggets have had the Timberwolves\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

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Joki\u0107\u2019s defense has been a subject of debate<\/a> 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\u2019s stingiest defenders. The versatile forward received six All-Defensive Team votes in 2023-24.<\/p>\n

Regardless, McDaniels\u2019 comments are the latest salvo in a burgeoning Western Conference rivalry.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s series-clinching 98-90 win.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything else to call it but a rivalry,\u201d Edwards told reporters<\/a> last week. \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of rivalries in the league now, \u2026 and I think me and Denver is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels is unimpressed with the Denver Nuggets\u2019 defense. After the Timberwolves\u2019 119-114 win over the Nuggets on Monday, reporters asked McDaniels about the key to sparking the team\u2019s offense. Attack Denver\u2019s stars, Jamal Murray and Nikola Joki\u0107, McDaniels said, before taking a beat and naming several other Nuggets players. Advertisement \u201cGo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1894909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1894909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894909\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1894909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1894909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1894909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}