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Jaden McDaniels’ return to his dominant defensive style gives the Wolves a new edge

Posted on by Taylor Reeves
Jaden McDaniels’ return to his dominant defensive style gives the Wolves a new edge

At some point this season, Jaden McDaniels isn’t sure when a revelation came.

One of the many reasons the Minnesota Timberwolves have failed to impress this season is that McDaniels was no longer the all-around defender he was last season. Not so oppressive on the perimeter, not so imposing on the edge. But over the last month, the McDaniels the Timberwolves paid him to do so have emerged as one of the league’s best defensive players, blocking guards and blocking shots.

So there must have been a conversation that rekindled his fire, right? Did a coach challenge him in a film session? Some internal motivation that woke the sleeping pterodactyl from its early slumber?

Jaden?

“No,” McDaniels said. “Just one game, I think I just decided to start playing defense again.”

Whatever the reason, McDaniels has returned to his fearsome self on that end of the court, and it’s no surprise that the Timberwolves’ defense looks a lot worse when he’s racing all over the court. He gave the Wolves some much-needed energy in an ugly 97-87 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, notching a career-best five steals, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking two shots. He backed up that performance with a strong attack on the other end, scoring 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

“Jaden was great,” coach Chris Finch said. “He was the star of the game for sure.”

Most importantly, McDaniels played with a power that almost everyone else on the court on both teams lacked, especially early in the game. Both the Lakers and Wolves had four days off between games due to the NBA Cup, a stretch that rarely occurs during the season. Whether it was the rust, the bitterly cold weather that hit Minneapolis this week, or simply because these teams were mediocre in the first quarter of the season, the game was a slog from the start.

The Wolves shot 40 percent from the field, including 28 percent from 3-point range, and had just 18 assists on their 35 baskets. The Lakers made 38 percent of their shots, 29 percent of their threes and turned the ball over 21 times, including 10 times in the first quarter.

With the Wolves struggling to even get a feel for the game, McDaniels went out and tried to overwhelm the Lakers without LeBron James. He stripped the ball from Austin Reaves for a dunk, hit a 3, stole an inbounds pass and threw down another dunk, all in the first six minutes of the game.

Four of McDaniels’ steals came in the first quarter, a dismantling of his opponents that was on par with some of his stingiest attempts from last season. With James away from the Lakers for personal reasons, McDaniels didn’t have a top scorer to contend with as he does on so many nights. No Luka Dončić, no James Harden, no Steph Curry. Anthony Davis was the only real offensive threat the Lakers had to worry about, and Rudy Gobert checked him most of the night. That left McDaniels free to run around and terrorize, and that’s exactly what he did.

“Just seeing that they were a little careless with the ball, I made the most of my opportunity,” McDaniels said. “Really bring the energy.”

Every time the Wolves needed a spark, McDaniels seemed to provide it. The Wolves missed their first 13 shots of the second quarter, preventing them from completely breaking the game open. McDaniels ended the game with a 3-point play.

When the Lakers got within 5 in the fourth, Finch went back to McDaniels to block the water. He blocked a shot from Gabe Vincent and fought his way through the trees with five minutes left to grab a key rebound that made it an 85-77 lead, and Minnesota held the rest of the way.

“We know what he does defensively, but every night when I come to the gym I see him working on his game and putting in extra work,” Julius Randle said. “He benefits from it.”

The Timberwolves (13-11) have won five of their last six games, almost single-handedly thanks to the return of a great defense. It was the third time in the last four games that they held their opponents under 100 points while shooting 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from three. They are fifth in the league in defensive rating and are No. 1 in their last 10 games with a rating of 101.2, 3.5 points per 100 possessions better than second-place Oklahoma City.

The strength of the schedule has something to do with it. They’ve played the free-falling Lakers twice, the sluggish Golden State Warriors twice and, in this stretch, the Toronto Raptors. But the defensive numbers they achieved weren’t just good, they were outstanding. And that was necessary because the offense had major problems.

The Lakers started the night with the 26th ranked defense in the NBA. They’ve been embarrassed on that end of the floor almost every time they step on the court lately, including a 41-point atrocity in Miami. And yet the Wolves had major problems generating a good offense against them all night long.

The Lakers’ switch-heavy schedule, exploited so effectively by smarter teams, completely unbalanced Minnesota. Most possessions were isolation plays for Randle or Anthony Edwards while the rest of the team stood around and watched. The off-ball movement that Finch preached during the layoff this week was nowhere to be found. Shots rang off the rim like bells, and for some reason the Wolves seemed hell-bent on challenging Davis in one-on-one situations rather than looking for mismatches against the multitude of lazy defenders flanking him.

“Even when we played well on offense, we just went through dry spells,” Finch said. “And then after the dry spells, we seem to be a little one-on-one. So we have to go back to trusting the things that worked to make good shots, even if we don’t make those shots.”

Randle played well and finished the game with 21 points, five rebounds and three assists. The Wolves won his 33 minutes by 23 points. He seems to enjoy those ugly offensive plays as the Wolves take advantage of his ability to stick his head down, force his way upfield and get off balance from wild angles.

“I’m always in attack mode and trying to be aggressive,” Randle said. “I’m still learning the staff and where my spots come from, picking those spots, but it’s definitely progressing.”

As disjointed as it often seemed, Gobert said he believes bigger nights are just around the corner. He believes Friday night’s poor shooting was more due to rust than anything else and said he’s seeing little things on the floor that suggest they’re close to clicking on offense just like they have did on the defensive a month ago.

“It may not be reflected in the numbers yet, but it’s getting better,” Gobert said after posting 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Until the Wolves’ offense becomes more fluid and confident again, they need to win on the other end of the floor. This is a team that has no problem playing in the mud that way. This style helped them reach the Western Conference finals last season. They’re a long way from that team, but when McDaniels returns, that murky picture comes into a little more focus.

“I feel like that sometimes, but not so consistently. In some games I will be less aggressive defensively,” he said. “But I feel like I’m back to myself.”

(Photo of Austin Reaves and Jaden McDaniels: David Berding / Getty Images)

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