A lot has been said, rightly, about Jaden McDaniels' improved scoring and increased creation duties. However, McDaniels' improved playmaking is another key factor in his offensive growth. Over six games, McDaniels is averaging a career-high in points (17) and assists (3.6).
During the Minnesota Timberwolves' latest win over the Los Angeles Clippers, McDaniels tied his career-high with seven assists. He also notched 23 points and frankly dominated the game.
The Wolves talked about empowering McDaniels all summer long. Without a doubt, McDaniels scoring and ability to create for himself are the main factors that went into empowering him on the ball. Nevertheless, to be a featured offensive player, playmaking is needed. With Anthony Edwards sidelined for the next two or so months, we'll only see more of McDaniels on the ball, and he'll need to make the reads when the defense collapses on him.
Thankfully, McDaniels has shown all of the right signs as a playmaker this season.
Jaden McDaniels' playmaking is helping the Timberwolves
Last season, McDaniels showed off some improved playmaking, averaging a career-high 2.7 assists. He started to flash signs in the pick-and-roll and as a tertiary playmaker. In addition to his raw assist numbers, McDaniels' 12.2 assist percentage was a career-high—that number is up to 16.2 this season. His precision as a playmaker and ability to make tough reads have stood out.
One thing that's specifically impressed me about McDaniels' playmaking is his ability to make reads out of drives. As he's been empowered more on the ball, he is naturally driving to the basket more. Notably, his 3.5 rim attempts per game are a career-high.
Driving to the basket causes defenses to commit resources to you. In doing so, this creates openings for your teammates, something you need to take advantage of with your playmaking—and McDaniels is doing just that. Without Edwards, defenses are more likely to sell out on McDaniels when he drives, as he's now their de facto second option, and his playmaking is making opposing teams pay for this strategy.
McDaniels' improved playmaking also allows the Timberwolves to use him on the ball in different ways, with pick-and-roll actions being the most notable. With McDaniels being the team's secondary creator for the time being, using him in different actions is vital. As a whole, having a jumbo-sized creator and secondary playmaker is a crucial wrinkle to the Wolves' offense, especially without Edwards.
McDaniels is a massive weapon in pick-and-roll actions. He can attack mismatches with his blend of size and skill or hit the roller. Frankly, McDaniels has the most chemistry with Rudy Gobert.
Whether it's McDaniels finding his teammates on drives, operating in the pick-and-roll, or simply making the extra pass, his passing is uplifting the team. This, paired with his improvement in self-creation, makes McDaniels a massive advantage for the Timberwolves' offense.
The more offensive responsibilities that McDaniels has, the better his playmaking has looked. As the season goes on, we are only going to see more of McDaniels' playmaking and on-ball abilities.
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