Jaden McDaniels has had a productive first-round series thus far, and it goes beyond himcalling out the entire Denver Nuggets' defense. McDaniels has been providing the Minnesota Timberwolves with some much-needed ancillary shot creation, averaging 15 points. He has also played stellar defense on Jamal Murray, holding him to 5-for-16 shooting as his primary defender.
However, McDaniels is 0-for-7 from 3-point range -- a number that won't continue throughout the series. McDaniels shot 41.2 percent from beyond the arc this season. As such, his 3-ball will eventually start falling, especially because they are generally open looks.
In Game 2, the Wolves' offense did a much better job of attacking the rim, which in turn created open looks on the perimeter. Given the Nuggets' poor rim protection, it's fair to expect this trend to continue. If McDaniels keeps getting these open 3s, they're bound to fall eventually, and given how well he's already played, this possibility should put Nuggets fans on edge.
Jaden McDaniels is bound to start hitting his 3-pointers
All season long, it's been clear that the Wolves are a different team when McDaniels is playing at his best. While his extra shot creation has uplifted the Wolves' offense, it's clear that McDaniels is just scratching the surface on offense this series. If McDaniels' 3s start falling, he and the Wolves will reach another level on offense.
Given that the series is already tied 1-1 heading back to Minnesota, this possibility could tilt things in the Wolves' favor.
Thus far, the Wolves have done the most difficult part of dealing with the Nuggets -- limiting their high-powered offensive attack. Rudy Gobert's elite defense on Nikola Jokic and McDaniels' aforementioned defense on Murray have been key to their success.
In the last three quarters of Game 2, the Wolves figured out that they have a massive athleticism advantage over the Nuggets and started attacking the paint more. McDaniels will be crucial to keeping this advantage by attacking the Nuggets' poor defenders. However, he'll also be one of the biggest beneficiaries of his teammates attacking the paint by way of getting open 3s.
At this point, McDaniels is too proven a spot-up shooter for his struggles from beyond the arc to continue throughout the series. Game 2 showed that the Wolves' offense is rolling, and they found a way to punish Denver.
If and when McDaniels' 3-point shot starts falling, the Timberwolves' offense might truly be an unstoppable force for the Nuggets.
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