What an awesome opening round series it was for Jaden McDaniels. Not only did he play the role of being a Jamal Murray stopper while also averaging nearly 18 points per game, but he talked smack about many of the Denver Nuggets’ key players being bad defenders. Those words didn’t come back to bite him as he, and many others on the team, took advantage of a lack of rim protection on Denver's side.
That lack of rim protection certainly won’t be there from the Minnesota Timberwolves' next opponent, the San Antonio Spurs. They roster the first ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year in Victor Wembanyama. With free trips to the lane less likely to occur, McDaniels will have to be more accurate with his deep ball in order to have the same offensive impact.
McDaniels made just 11.1 percent from 3-point land in the first round
As awesome as McDaniels was in the Denver series, there’s one negative number that stands out from him over those six outings. That is the 25-year-old’s accuracy from beyond the arc. For the series, Jaden made just 2 of his 18 attempts from 3-point distance (11.1 percent). Obviously, not the largest of sample sizes, but it’s coming off a regular season that was the best of his 6-year career from long distance.
During the regular season, he made 41.2 percent of his 3-point tries. Coming into the year, he was at 34.8 percent for his career. It was in the playoffs where Jaden became more of a 3-point marksman. Prior to the Denver series, he nailed an excellent 42 percent of his 3-point attempts in postseason play.
With Donte DiVincenzo out and Anthony Edwards likely not to be available for at least the start of the San Antonio series, more of an offensive onus will be placed on McDaniels. Nearly 80 percent of his field goal attempts against the Nuggets came from inside the arc, a 10 percent increase from the regular season.
McDaniels and the rest of the team will likely find plenty more resistance taking it to the hole against Wemby and the Spurs. San Antonio had the fourth-best field goal percentage allowed on 2-pointers in the regular season.
The Timberwolves will enter their matchup as heavy underdogs, but Jaden’s 3-point accuracy could play a large role in determining if Minnesota can pull off the upset. It won't be easy, as the Portland Trail Blazers shot just 30.2 percent from beyond the arc in their five-game series loss to the Spurs.
Add us as a preferred source on Google