MINNEAPOLIS — At some point this season, Jaden McDaniels is not exactly sure when, an epiphany arrived.
One of many reasons the Minnesota Timberwolves have underwhelmed this season is McDaniels was not the all-defense-caliber player he was last season. Not as stifling on the perimeter, not as imposing near the rim. But over the past month, the McDaniels the Timberwolves paid to be one of the best defensive players in the league has emerged, locking down guards and swatting away shots.
So there must have been some kind of conversation that relit his fire, right? Did a coach challenge him in a film session? Some sort of internal motivation that roused the sleeping pterodactyl from his early season slumber?
Jaden?
“Nah,” McDaniels said. “Just one game, I guess I just decided to start playing defense again.”
Whatever the reason, McDaniels is back to his frightening self on that end of the floor, and it is no surprise the Timberwolves defense looks a whole lot nastier with him swooping all over the court. He gave the Wolves some much-needed energy in an ugly 97-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, swiping a career-high five steals, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking two shots. He buttressed that performance with a sharp outing on the other end, scoring 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
“Jaden was awesome,” coach Chris Finch said. “He was the star of the game, for sure.”
Most importantly, McDaniels played with a force that was lacking in most everyone else on the court for both teams, especially early in the game. The Lakers and Wolves both had four days off between their games due to the NBA Cup, a length of time that is rare during the season. Whether it was rust, the bitterly cold weather that has gripped the city this week or just that these teams have been mediocre through 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 only 18 assists on their 35 made baskets. The Lakers made 38 percent of their shots, 29 percent of their 3s and turned the ball over 21 times, including 10 times in the first quarter.
With the Wolves struggling to find any kind of feel for the game, McDaniels went out and tried to overpower the LeBron James-less Lakers. He ripped the ball from Austin Reaves for a dunk, hit a 3 and stole an inbounds pass and threw down another dunk, all in the first six minutes of the game.
perfect. perfect. perfect.@PaniniAmerica Peak Performance of the Game. pic.twitter.com/bUpXLF1bE8
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 14, 2024
Four of McDaniels’ steals came in the first quarter, a dismantling of his opponents that was on par with some of his stingiest efforts last season. With James away from the Lakers for personal reasons, McDaniels did not have a marquee scorer to deal 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 for most of the night. That left McDaniels free to roam and terrorize, and that’s exactly what he did.
OKAYYYY SLIM
career-high 5 steals tonight 👏 pic.twitter.com/VATZoXpVrm
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 14, 2024
“Just seeing they (were) being kind of lackadaisical with the ball, I made the most of my opportunity,” McDaniels said. “Bring the energy, really.”
Every time the Wolves needed a spark, McDaniels seemed to bring it. The Wolves missed their first 13 shots of the second quarter, preventing them from blowing the game wide open. McDaniels busted the skid with a 3-point play.
When the Lakers pulled to within 5 in the fourth, Finch went back to McDaniels to shut off the water. He swatted a shot by Gabe Vincent and scrapped among the trees for a key rebound with five minutes to go, which led to a jumper for an 85-77 lead, and Minnesota held on the rest of the way.
“We know what he does on the defensive end, but every night I come to the gym, I see him working on his game, putting in extra work,” Julius Randle said. “He’s reaping the benefits of that.”
The Timberwolves (13-11) have won of five of their last six games, and it has been almost single-handedly due to the return of great defense. It was the third time in the last four games they held their opponent under 100 points, 40 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent shooting from 3. They are fifth in the league in defensive rating and No. 1 over the last 10 games with a 101.2 rating, 3.5 points per 100 possessions better than second-place Oklahoma City.
The strength of schedule has something to do with that. They have played the free-falling Lakers twice, the sluggish Golden State Warriors twice and the Toronto Raptors in that stretch. But the defensive metrics they are hitting are not just good, they have been outstanding. And they have needed to be because the offense has struggled mightily.
The Lakers entered the night with the 26th-ranked defense in the NBA. They were getting embarrassed on that end of the floor most every time they took the court lately, including a 41-point abomination in Miami. And yet the Wolves had so much trouble generating good offense against them all night.
The Lakers’ switch-heavy scheme that was exploited so effectively by smarter teams threw Minnesota completely out of whack. Most possessions were isolation plays for Randle or Anthony Edwards while the rest of the team stood around and watched. The off-ball movement Finch preached during the layoff this week was nowhere to be found. Shots clanked off the rim like jingle bells and, for some reason, the Wolves seemed hell-bent on challenging Davis in one-on-one situations rather than seek out mismatches against the plethora of putrid defenders that flanked him.
“Even when we’ve played good offense, we’ve just hit these dry spells,” Finch said. “And then after the dry spells, we seem to go a little bit too one-on-one. So we’ve got to go back to trusting the things that were working to get good shots, even when we don’t make those shots.”
Randle did play well, finishing with 21 points, five rebounds and three assists. The Wolves won his 33 minutes by 23 points. He seems to revel in these ugly offensive games, when the Wolves lean into his ability to put his head down, bully his way to the paint and hit off-balance shots at wild angles.
15 pts at the half for Julius 👀 pic.twitter.com/K7zOld43ky
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 14, 2024
“I’m always in attack mode, trying to be aggressive,” Randle said. “Still learning personnel and where my spots are going to come from, picking and choosing those spots, but it’s coming along, for sure.”
As disjointed as it often looked, Gobert said he believes bigger nights are right around the corner. He believes the poor shooting Friday night was more a product of rust than anything else and said he sees little things on the floor that indicate they are close to clicking offensively just like they did defensively a month ago.
“It might not translate yet in the numbers, but it’s getting better and better,” Gobert said after posting 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Until that fluidity and shot-making return to the Wolves offense, they are going to have to win on the other end of the floor. This is a team that is comfortable playing in the mud that way. It’s a style that took them to the Western Conference finals last season. They are a long way from that team, but seeing McDaniels coming back around brings that dulled image into a little bit more focus.
“I feel like sometimes, but not as consistent. Some games, I’ll be less aggressive defensively,” he said. “But I feel like I’m back to myself again.”
(Photo of Jaden McDaniels guarding Austin Reaves: David Berding / Getty Images)
