Jaden

McDaniels

It has been a disappointing season for McDaniels, but he turned in a strong line in this game. One of the few bright spots of McDaniels’ season is that his defensive prowess is finally translating into defensive stats, and he was able to set a new season-high for steals in this game. He also set a season-high for rebounds and had one of his best offensive performances of the year. Hopefully this can help turn things around for McDaniels, but managers shouldn’t be rushing to the waiver wire.

McDaniels has mostly been a source of defensive stats this season, especially recently. He has had at least two steals in five straight games and is averaging 2.3 stocks per game this year. However, he was able to get it done on the offensive end as well in this one. He set a new season-high for points and rebounds while playing a season-high 42 minutes. McDaniels has been one of the best defenders in the league for a few years, but this is the first time that it has truly shown up in the box score. He’ll look to keep it up in Boston on Sunday.

Nights like this should be the norm for McDaniels regarding the production. Unfortunately, they haven’t been, with the Timberwolves wing ranked outside the top 150 in 9-cat formats. McDaniels is rostered in 19% of Yahoo leagues, and that number may increase by a few points ahead of Wednesday’s rematch with the Blazers due to his performance on Tuesday.

After scoring no more than 13 points in any of Minnesota’s first seven games, McDaniels broke out on Thursday. He made all four of his 3-point attempts and finished with a season-high 19 points after scoring 16 on 6-of-19 shooting in the two games prior. McDaniels’ limited offensive production lowers his fantasy ceiling, but Thursday was a reminder that he can be an asset, especially in deep leagues.

While his defensive ability has made McDaniels a mainstay in the Timberwolves starting lineup, he’s been a bit frustrating in fantasy basketball. He’s yet to produce a top-100 season, with the 2022-23 campaign (116th in per-game value, per Basketball Monster) being McDaniels’ best. However, with Julius Randle (shoulder) not guaranteed to be ready for the start of the regular season, McDaniels is worth rolling the dice on in standard league drafts.

McDaniels struggled with fouls in Game 5, playing a series-low 21 minutes as a result. After scoring 24 points in the series opener, the Timberwolves wing struggled in Games 2 and 5 while producing solid all-around efforts in Games 3 and 4. McDaniels is one of the top wing defenders in the NBA, but his fantasy value is capped due to his being no higher than fourth in the offensive pecking order on most nights. While his status as a starter led many fantasy managers to select Jaden with a late-round pick (Yahoo ADP: 114), he finished just inside the top 200 in 9-cat formats. McDaniels should be selected in most drafts, but managers must keep their expectations in check.

Towns is mired in a brutal slump at the worst possible time. With Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki in attendance, the self-proclaimed “best shooting big man of all time” missed all eight of his 3-point attempts in Game 3. And Towns is just 4-of-32 from beyond the arc over his last five games. Even with Jaden McDaniels (15/1/0/1 with three 3-pointers) and Mike Conley shooting the ball well, Minnesota’s two stars (KAT and Anthony Edwards) have been thoroughly outplayed by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. As a result, Minnesota heads into Game 4 on Tuesday needing a win to keep its season alive.

After shooting 6-of-9 from three in the final two games of Minnesota’s second-round series win over Denver, McDaniels stayed hot in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. He made six of his nine attempts from deep against the Mavericks while also leading the Timberwolves in scoring. On a night when Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns combined to score 35 points on 12-of-36 shooting, McDaniels’ performance kept Minnesota within striking distance. He and the Timberwolves will look to even the series at one-all on Friday.

Minnesota won the final two games of this series after getting blown out in Game 5, and McDaniels’ improved play had much to do with the turnaround. He scored 46 points in Games 6 and 7, shooting 15-of-20 from the field. Already a highly impactful defender, McDaniels’ progression as a scorer has paid dividends for the Timberwolves. He must continue that production in the Western Conference Finals, as McDaniels will likely be assigned Luka Doncic. Game 1 of that series is on Wednesday night.

McDaniels has been fairly quiet offensively since the first round but topped 20 points for the second time this postseason on Thursday while trailing only Aaron Gordon in blocks. The Timberwolves wing affected his team’s offense and defense and offense significantly in a must-win contest.