Minnesota Timberwolves’ stopper Jaden McDaniels aggressive defense

We know that the Minnesota Timberwolves have a brand new roster, complete with a brand new starting lineup and brand new rotations that play to the strengths of all of the Timberwolves’ new faces.  And for the first dozen games or so, the brunt of the work has been born by Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch and the coaching staff trying to sort out the individual and complementary strengths of the team.

One thing was never in doubt. That is the defensive strength of Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, a player whose speed, agility, and Stretch-Armstrong wingspan have allowed him to become a nightmare to any opposing player he is guarding in the game.

Minnesota Timberwolves Jaden McDaniels is a defensive savant

Offensive players attacking the rim with Jaden McDaniels lurking must feel the same way a gazelle feels when they realize a lion is pouncing on them. Opponents are simply at McDaniels mercy when he’s chasing them down or coming over from the weakside the dispatch any plans of an easy bucket.

McDaniels is the Wolves’ strongest on-ball defender, tasked with guarding the best offensive player on other squads — regardless of position for the most part. This job comes with many challenges, he’s defending the toughest shotmakers in the world. Foul trouble and frustrations have been paired with McDaniels insane defensive versatility. That may not be the worst thing in the world.

The challenge so far has not been trying to get McDaniels to do what he does best. Rather, it’s been a mix-and-match ongoing experiment to determine which grouping he performs at his best. We know that early on, Timberwolves Coach Finch paired shooting guard Anthony Edwards with power forward Karl-Anthony Towns. We also know that Coach Finch paired point guard D’Angelo Russell with center Rudy Gobert. So what about Jaden McDaniels? Let’s take a look: