{"id":1906821,"date":"2026-04-28T11:37:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T08:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1906821"},"modified":"2026-04-28T11:37:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T08:37:48","slug":"jaden-mcdaniels-embraces-vitriol-as-part-of-his-villain-arc-in-timberwolves-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1906821","title":{"rendered":"Jaden McDaniels embraces vitriol as part of his villain arc in Timberwolves\u2019 playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DENVER \u2014 Jaden McDaniels has toiled in Anthony Edwards\u2019 shadow for his entire career. The two friends came into the league together, endured the losses of the early days together and have helped turn the Minnesota Timberwolves into contenders in the Western Conference together.<\/p>\n

They complement each other so well. Edwards is the loud one, the spotlight sponge with the bright smile and the dynamic scoring. McDaniels is the quiet one, the one who just wants to hoop and go home, the defensive demon who takes a backseat on offense to the Wolves\u2019 higher usage players.<\/p>\n

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Little by little, McDaniels has been stepping out into the sunlight in this playoff series against Denver, creating a stir with his mouth<\/a> and his actions<\/a> in a tense rubber match against their bitter rivals. In Game 5 on Monday night, McDaniels got a true glimpse of the attention Edwards gets every time he steps on the floor.<\/p>\n

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The provocateur was booed every time he touched the ball, serenaded by chants of \u201cJaden sucks!\u201d and taunted by the Nuggets throughout a 125-113 loss<\/a>. He has made himself the villain, a conscious decision on his part to get himself and his own team going. After missing out on a chance to eliminate the Nuggets on their home floor for the second time in three years, he had one message for the legion that lined up against him.<\/p>\n

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Bring it on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love this environment, everyone hating me, all the hate\u2019s coming toward me,\u201d McDaniels said. \u201cI love it. I don\u2019t care. I feed into it. It just brings the best out of me. We just ended up losing today, but we\u2019re going to win the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wolves still lead the series 3-2, with a chance to close it out at home in Game 6 on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

As much as he insisted the rowdy atmosphere did not affect him, McDaniels still offered up his least impactful performance of the series. He picked up two fouls in the first 2:16 of the game, forcing coach Chris Finch to go to his bench much sooner than anticipated. Finch called the second whistle, an offensive foul on a drive against Cam Johnson, \u201cridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought Jaden had a clear line to the basket,\u201d Finch said. \u201cI thought Johnson comes over, and I thought that was a tough start more than anything else, I don\u2019t think Jaden\u2019s worried about whether they boo him when he touches the ball.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Wolves challenged the call, but crew chief James Capers upheld the ruling because McDaniels extended his forearm. McDaniels had to sit the rest of the first quarter. It was no coincidence that Jamal Murray had his best quarter of the game, scoring eight points on 3-for-5 shooting to help Denver take an early 10-point lead.<\/p>\n

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McDaniels finished the game with 13 points, missed all three of his 3-pointers, grabbed three rebounds and turned the ball over four times in 27 minutes. He was able to make things tough on Murray over the final three quarters, in which the Nuggets guard scored just 16 points on 6-for-18 shooting, but the Wolves were still outscored by 25 points in McDaniels\u2019 time on the floor.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI would say we were rushing our offense a little bit so we were making silly mistakes,\u201d McDaniels said. \u201cIt\u2019s on me. I gotta be better, not fouling early in the game and just taking care of the ball. Four turnovers, I usually don\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDaniels only had five games in the regular season in which he turned the ball over at least four times, but he was hardly the only one to blame on Monday night. The Timberwolves committed 25 turnovers, which led to 35 points for the Nuggets. Julius Randle had five, Kyle Anderson had four and Bones Hyland and Naz Reid both had three.<\/p>\n

The Wolves averaged just 12 turnovers per game in the first four games of the series, capitalizing on Denver\u2019s slow-footed defense. Minnesota held Denver to under 100 points in Games 3 and 4, a statistic bolstered by the lack of turnovers leading to easy buckets. The Nuggets scored 23 fast break points in Game 5, many of them coming off of ill-advised mistakes.<\/p>\n

The Wolves turned it over nine times in the first quarter alone, allowing a nervous Ball Arena to erupt as the Nuggets got out in transition.<\/p>\n

If it looked like the Wolves came into the game lacking urgency and attention to detail, given their 3-1 lead in the series, coaches and players said it was the exact opposite. Without Edwards, who is listed as week-to-week<\/a> with a hyperextended left knee, and Donte DiVincenzo, who was lost to a torn right Achilles<\/a> tendon in Game 4, the rest of the Wolves might have tried to do a little too much individually, which led to forcing the action and a rash of mistakes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI think we were all just trying to make plays and we got a little bit too much of that, just trying to do it on our own,\u201d said Randle, who finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists. \u201cWe just gotta continue to make the right plays and the easy plays. I\u2019ll take accountability for that. Five turnovers is too much.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The absences, and a clear desperation from the Nuggets to avoid elimination, forced Denver to bring a different kind of defensive mindset to Game 5. The Wolves got whatever they wanted in the paint and at the rim in the first four games, blowing by perimeter defenders and going right at Nikola Joki\u0107 for easy buckets. But without the threats of Edwards and DiVincenzo to spread the Nuggets\u2019 defense thin, they were able to pack the paint and get into the passing lanes, making it much harder for the Wolves to drive.<\/p>\n

They turned it over 14 times in the first half, negating 47 percent shooting from 3 to fall behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we started the game wanting to make all the home run plays,\u201d Finch said. \u201cInstead of making all the plays that help us get into the ball game and make the rhythm plays.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Minnesota overcame the losses of Edwards and DiVincenzo in Game 4<\/a> thanks to 43 points from Ayo Dosunmu and precise ball movement that created open shots for everyone around him. In Game 5, the Nuggets loaded up on Dosunmu, holding him to 18 points and just three rebounds. Dosunmu was a primary beneficiary of Edwards\u2019 gravity and DiVincenzo\u2019s hustle. Playing without them will take some getting used to.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes simple is boring,\u201d Dosunmu said. \u201cBut simplicity is what wins your games, gets the job done. So we have to just do a better job of that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nuggets also finally started to stand up for themselves against McDaniels, who called them out by name<\/a> after Game 2 and rubbed their noses in<\/a> a win in Game 4. Jonas Valan\u010di\u016bnas jawed at him in the third quarter. Christian Braun pointed directly at him<\/a> after throwing down a dunk in his face, earning a technical for taunting.<\/p>\n

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They showed the spirit they needed to show after McDaniels insulted them and then outplayed them<\/a>. He has been one of Minnesota\u2019s best players in these playoffs, and no one was worried about this ability bounce back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cool. I like it,\u201d McDaniels said. \u201cYou see I\u2019m probably shaking my head the whole time they\u2019re booing me. I\u2019m laughing, so they can\u2019t get in my head. I already expect it to come.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The last thing his teammates were worried about coming out of a disappointing performance was McDaniels\u2019 ability to put a tough game behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was sitting next to him a lot and I said, \u2018Man, as much hate as you\u2019re getting tonight, it\u2019s going to be about 100 times more love for you when we go back to Minnesota. So just know that,’\u201d Mike Conley said. \u201cHe\u2019s a good kid, man, and he really just does whatever it takes to win. He\u2019s got a great mindset on him. I know he\u2019s going to be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deep down inside, McDaniels had to appreciate the vitriol he received from all corners on Monday night. You give and you get. If anything, it will probably only push him to respond in kind when the Nuggets are back in his house on Thursday. Because one thing is certain when it comes to McDaniels\u2019 pettiness and competitive spirit.<\/p>\n

There is plenty more where that comes from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DENVER \u2014 Jaden McDaniels has toiled in Anthony Edwards\u2019 shadow for his entire career. The two friends came into the league together, endured the losses of the early days together and have helped turn the Minnesota Timberwolves into contenders in the Western Conference together. They complement each other so well. Edwards is the loud one, […]<\/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-1906821","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\/1906821","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=1906821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906821\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1906821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1906821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1906821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}