The Minnesota Timberwolves have been absolutely fearless in the NBA Playoffs.
It turned out the LA Lakers’ nightmare opponent for the NBA Playoffs was the Minnesota Timberwolves, a pack of strong, physical players unafraid to back down.
Anthony Edwards’ shoving match with LeBron James in Game 4 defined their approach, a match-up in which they rallied back from a 10-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to claim the victory.
Young superstar Anthony Edwards has led the team, and he has been helped by an explosive supportive cast.
Former ‘Wolves player Patrick Beverley claims another player has been even more impressive.
Speaking on his podcast, former Minnesota Timberwolves player Patrick Beverley first spoke of his admiration for Anthony Edwards, before claiming he has been more impressed by Jaden McDaniels.
Beverley commented: “He’s guarding LeBron, he’s guarding Luka, he’s guarding AR, he’s been phenomenal this series, but to me he [Edwards] hasn’t been the best player on the team. He has, but to me it’s been Jaden McDaniels.”
He referred back to his own time in Minnesota, when he spotted that McDaniels had the potential to become what we are seeing now.
“I told people years ago how incredible Jaden McDaniels, the young kid was going to be, just from my small time with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“I gave him comparison to Scottie Pippen. And he’s not a player that’s going to jump right off the page for you in the regular season, he’s the guy your going to see his worth in the playoff, and your seeing it right now.
“His length, his ball handling capabilities, his ability to hit the corner three, defensively he’s probably the best three defenders in the playoff right now, on ball, off ball, his size, wingspan.”
Patrick Beverley had tipped Jaden McDaniels ahead of the playoffs to have a breakout series against the Lakers.
“I know we don’t talk about him a lot. But I think this gonna be a coming out party for him,” he told his podcast before the series began.
And while Beverley’s latest comments may serve to shine a spotlight on his positive prediction, there’s no doubt his admiration of his former teammate is genuine.
McDaniels has been averaging 19.8 points per game during the playoffs through his opening four games, including scoring 30 points in Game 3, equalling his personal best, a performance that saw head coach Chris Finch dub him a ‘monster’.
