For much of the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves were one of the league’s healthiest teams. Of late, that has changed, though. That’s why, as the regular season is nearly over, it was a great sign to see Jaden McDaniels not just return, but mostly look like his normal self.
For six straight games prior to Wednesday,McDaniels had been forced to sit out with left knee patella tendinopathy. Prior to that, the 26-year-old had only missed two of Minnesota’s first 73 outings.
When it was announced that McDaniels would return to the court on Wednesday night, fans were understandably concerned that his knee injury would negatively impact his production. However, this wasn't the case at all.
Jaden McDaniels returns to the court in dominant fashion on Wednesday
In his first game back on Wednesday, McDaniels entered with more of an offensive role due to Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, and Ayo Dosunmu being out. In 19 minutes of action, Jaden would take 16 shots, making half of them, and finishing with 18 points.
He was involved in a lot of action on the offensive end and didn’t look hampered by the knee injury. McDaniels came out of the gate in the first quarter, scoring eight points early, all on shots inside the paint.
There was never a clear timetable for McDaniels’ return (the team stated he was out week-to-week), so it was great to see him back after just a two-week absence. The concern was that he might not be ready for the start of the playoffs, but obviously that is no longer the case.
With the Timberwolves locked into the sixth seed, their likely first-round opponent will be the Denver Nuggets. Denver features an elite offense, so having McDaniels both available and healthy for that series is a must if they hope to advance. He likely will be matched up against Jamal Murray often on the defensive end.
McDaniels has been a playoff riser in his career, scoring the basketball with greater efficiency. It has translated to the regular season this year as he has a career-high scoring average of 14.8 as well as a career-best in field goal (51.8 percent) and 3-point (41.7 percent) accuracy.
The Wolves have just two regular season games remaining. McDaniels is back. The last piece remaining is Anthony Edwards returning and looking like the dynamic scorer he is, as he has missed 10 of the last 12 games with a knee injury.