It can be argued that Jaden McDaniels has been the Minnesota Timberwolves’ MVP thus far in the playoffs. His work on both ends of the court is a large reason that the Wolves pulled off the series upset over the Denver Nuggets and entered Wednesday with a 1-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs.
Unfortunately, the Spurs are also finding a way to play McDaniels off the court. It has nothing to do with how he is playing, but instead, it’s about getting him into foul trouble.
McDaniels has been picking up fouls left and right in playoffs
It was an ugly 38-point loss by Minnesota on Wednesday. The game wasn’t all that far out of reach when McDaniels picked up his third foul with 9:49 remaining in the second quarter. The Spurs were up 29-22 at the time.
By halftime, San Antonio owned a 59-35 lead with Jaden sitting the rest of the second quarter. The Spurs had their way on the offensive end without Minnesota’s 25-year-old defensive whiz out there on the court. A game that felt like it was within striking distance when McDaniels left felt pretty much out of reach by halftime. It's worth noting that McDaniels finished as a minus-6 in a game where the Wolves lost by 38.
Now in both games, McDaniels has picked up five fouls. The Spurs know that even with him being as good a defender as he is, they won’t shy from attempting to attack him. He has always been prone to foul trouble, and San Antonio is looking to capitalize.
Remarkably, this is the fifth time in the eight playoff games thus far that Jaden has committed five personal fouls. His 35 total is six more than any other player has committed (Karl-Anthony Towns, Neemias Queta, and Stephon Castle each with 29).
McDaniels prides himself on his work on the defensive end. It feels wrong that he has been named to only one All-Defensive team, although there’s a chance he’s named to his second when this year’s All-Defensive teams are named.Â
Now in his sixth year, McDaniels only knows how to play one way on defense. If he has two fouls early in the second quarter, he’s not going to get less assertive on that end in order not to pick up his third.
At times, it’s a great quality to have. Other times, it sends him to the bench. While McDaniels’ foul troubles weren’t the reason they lost Game 2, they need him on the court to have any chance of reaching the Western Conference finals for a third-straight year.
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