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Jaden McDaniels rolled his right ankle in the first quarter in the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-100 win over the New York Knicks on Monday. The forward didn’t return after he was taken to the locker room. Chris Finch, the Timberwolves’ coach, told reporters later that McDaniel’s injury could probably sideline him for a week. After MRI tests came out, the Timberwolves announced that he would be out for 2-3 weeks.
McDaniels will be re-evaluated in one week, which will help determine if the 2-3-week estimate will hold. Fortunately, he is suffering a Grade 1 right lateral ankle sprain, which is the lowest grade for sprains. There is a big chance he should be back as expected.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are off to a 10-3 start, the best in the Western Conference. They have the second-best defensive rating in the NBA, which has been a key ingredient to their early success. Rudy Gobert is back to his elite status as a rim protector. Anthony Edwards is a menacing beast that hounds perimeter players.
Jaden McDaniels, meanwhile, has been a huge asset on that end for the Timberwolves. When it’s not “Ant-Man” that’s taking on the opposing team’s deadliest outside threat, McDaniels has gotten that role.
The four-year player has also contributed his part on the offensive end. He is averaging 9.5 points per game, which is down from his 12.1 ppg average last season. McDaniels, though, is hitting 58.2% of his shots, a big improvement from the 51.7% last season.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Josh Minott, Troy Brown Jr. and Naz Reid could see more playing time without Jaden McDaniels
After Jaden McDaniel’s first-quarter injury against the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch went to Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Finch’s move played out well as Alexander-Walker finished with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes. He had a net rating of +15, which was third-best in the team.
Troy Brown Jr., Naz Reid and Josh Minott might see more playing time without McDaniels in the next 2-3 weeks. Brown Jr. had a good run with the LA Lakers last season before he was traded to Minnesota. Perhaps more minutes are in the card for him.
Reid is another player who could see his minutes go up. He often comes as the first big man to relieve Karl-Anthony Towns or Rudy Gobert. But with Jaden McDaniels out, Finch is expected to tweak his lineup. Reid could be a beneficiary of the changes.
Finch could also take a longer look at sophomore forward Josh Minott. Out of the possible replacements for Jaden McDaniels, Minott arguably has the game that is most similar to the Timberwolves’ starting small forward.
