David Adelman claps back at Jaden McDaniels’ bad defender quip

The animosity between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves continues to build as the series shifts cities, with Jaden McDaniels’ postgame comments following Game 2 fueling the latest chapter of the rivalry.

After the Timberwolves’ 119-114 win Monday night that evened the series at 1-1, McDaniels called out Denver’s “bad defenders” by name — Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Cameron Johnson. On Wednesday, the Nuggets responded, with first-year head coach David Adelman offering the most buzzworthy quote while his players mostly shrugged it off.

“I can’t wait for his podcast,” Adelman said sarcastically about McDaniels. “He’s a really good player. Everyone has a sounding board these days. It’ll help his social media.”

McDaniels had set the tone after Game 2: “Go after Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders. Tim Hardaway (Jr.), Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team, just go at them.”

When pressed on it, he doubled down: “Yeah, they’re all bad defenders.”

“They don’t got people that can defend the rim,” McDaniels said. “We’re still more athletic than them and just got to be able to finish when we do.”

The Nuggets had Tuesday off and practiced Wednesday afternoon at their facility before an afternoon flight to Minneapolis for a pivotal Game 3 on Thursday night.

While McDaniels wasn’t exactly the engine in Game 2 — scoring 14 points on 15 shots — the numbers back up his take. Denver posted a 117.4 defensive rating during the regular season, which ranked 21st in the league. In Game 2, the Nuggets posted a 116.7 defensive rating — right in line with the subpar standard they set across 82 games. The Wolves were led by Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, who combined for 54 points and turned the Nuggets’ 19-point first-quarter lead into another Denver collapse.

McDaniels’ comments aren’t unfounded, and the Nuggets know this.

“It’s part of the rivalry,” Christian Braun said. “I don’t think it caught anybody off guard. He’s kinda speaking his truth and what he believes. We’ll allow them to do that. We kinda want to take care of our own.”

Notably, McDaniels didn’t mention Braun in his roasting of Denver’s defenders — and with wing Peyton Watson sidelined by a hamstring strain, Braun is one of the Nuggets’ few legitimate options to slow Edwards at the point of attack. Watson worked off to the side at Wednesday’s practice, and Adelman said the hope is to get him back at some point in the series, though the expectation is he’ll remain out for Game 3.

While the Nuggets have struggled defensively for most of the year, Adelman defended his defense maybe more than the defense actually defends the basket.

“Narratives are interesting,” he said. “You hear so many things. We’ve gotten lazy in society. What’s our defensive rating in this series through two games?”

Denver’s defensive rating is 109.3 in the first 96 minutes of the playoffs.

“109,” Adelman said. “How is that?”

It ranks sixth-best of the 16 playoff teams.

“Sixth best in the playoffs?” Adelman said. “OK. Next.”

It’s pretty ripe to be bulletin board material to inspire the Nuggets defense — as if a ring wasn’t enough.

“Sure, sure,” Johnson said about bulletin board material. “But I’m not entertaining those antics.”

Johnson, an actual podcaster offering a new face in a rivalry that spans most of the Jokic era, downplayed the quip even further.

“They’ve just been saying a lot,” Johnson said. “All season, all series. Let them talk. Let them get everything they want off their chest.”

The Wolves knocked the Nuggets out of the playoffs in Game 82 in 2018. Denver eliminated Minnesota in five games in the 2023 playoffs. The Timberwolves returned the favor, knocking Denver out in seven games in 2024. This is their third playoff series in the past four seasons, and it’s somehow gotten even more heated.

Related

Another Nuggets player could leave, but it’s not a done deal yetNuggets lose backup forward David Roddy as he heads overseasLeBron James will not join the Nuggets, headed to PhiladelphiaPeyton Watson’s contract expectations are completely out of whackFormer Nuggets guard arrested in Castle Rock for alleged shopliftingShould Nikola Jokic face backlash for taking the supermax?