Jaden McDaniels left Saturday’s practice sounding convinced Minnesota is closer offensively, even with the Spurs up 2-1 in the series. He said the Wolves “found a good offensive rhythm” in Game 3, even though they “missed a bunch of shots.”
The Timberwolves forward pointed to the coaching staff’s shot map as a turning point, saying the plan was to “attack from certain spots and get the ball to certain points of the court.” Minnesota did that better on Friday night, especially once the offense spread out and turned into more drive-and-kick action.
“That spread lineup has been a great lineup for us,” McDaniels said, adding that “having space and being able to play in space makes it easier to see your kick outs and see where you can attack from.” That spacing mattered against San Antonio because Victor Wembanyama kept swallowing looks near the rim and forcing Minnesota into tougher finishes.
McDaniels did not hide how hard Wembanyama is to score over. “He’s just so tall,” he said, adding that “even if he doesn’t get it, you still got to throw it a little higher” because the Spurs center “can contest everything.”
The 25-year-old also described the strange adjustment of scoring against a player who seems to be everywhere at once. “There’s not a lot of times that you’re doing that pull-up and somebody’s able to actually contest it,” McDaniels said, before adding, “you just got to get used to playing someone this tall.”
Game 3 turned on those margins. Minnesota recovered from an ugly start and tied the game at halftime, but Wembanyama’s 39 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks carried San Antonio to a 115-108 win and a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 on Sunday night in Minneapolis.
McDaniels also owned one of the defensive mistakes that helped the Spurs swing the game back. “Probably one play I helped too much and they hit a corner three,” he said, summing up the kind of discipline Minnesota has to clean up if it wants to slow San Antonio’s spread attack.
He emphasized that the Timberwolves cannot lose track of the basic rotations, especially against a team that punishes every breakdown. “Really just got to stay locked in and stay on the string,” McDaniels said, noting that if someone gets beat, the help has to recover on time.
That pressure gets even sharper when Minnesota has to deal with traps on ballhandlers. McDaniels said the answer is to be “in our spots early” and give Anthony Edwards “an early outlet so he sees us quick,” then be ready to attack the open floor “three on two on the other end.”
McDaniels also said the physicality is exactly what the series has become. “It’s real physical,” he said, adding that the refs “let us play a little bit” and that he is “all right with it” as long as both teams can battle.
He saved some of his biggest praise for Wembanyama’s mindset. McDaniels said the Spurs star’s return from the ankle issue shows that “his 50% is better than some players’ 100%,” and that just being on the floor “helps us a lot.”
For Minnesota, the message is clear: the offense has a shape now, but the Spurs’ size, spacing and late-game poise still give them the edge. McDaniels sees the opening; Game 4 will show whether the Wolves can turn that belief into a series-tying win.
