The Timberwolves lost the series opener at home despite some good shooting from Jaden McDaniels.
With no other place to hide Luka Doncic’s defensive weaknesses, McDaniels should be back in action in Game 2 on Friday night.
McDaniels made a career-high six 3-pointers on Wednesday night, extending his streak of three or more 3-pointers to three.
The Mavericks have strong perimeter defenders in P.J. Washington and Derrick Jones Jr., but they are and will continue to be preoccupied with the prolific scorers in Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards.
Doncic leads Dallas’ offense alongside Kyrie Irving, but the team has consistently faltered defensively, leaving role players like McDaniels behind.
In Game 1, in the nine minutes Doncic was on guard, McDaniels hit five long balls.
He made another 3-pointer in the two minutes that Irving, another weak link in the Mavericks’ defense, was guarding him.
McDaniels took just 1.2 3-pointers per game during the regular season, but he’s getting significantly more shots from those three in the playoffs with the Timberwolves.
The 23-year-old winger’s playing time increased from 29.2 to 34 minutes per game in the postseason.
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And with defenses trying to slow down Edwards and Towns, they’ve been free in the corners, which has significantly improved their shooting percentage, going from 33.7 percent to 41.5 percent by roughly the same amount.
McDaniels is also in top form by any standards, making 12 of 18 3-pointers in his last three games and scoring 21 or more points in each.
play: Jaden McDaniels makes two or more 3-pointers (-122, Caesars Sportsbook)
