The Timberwolves have spent years talking about turning Jaden McDaniels into more than a complementary scorer. He flashed it last season with 14.8 points per game, then pushed that number to 16.3 points in the playoffs. Now Minnesota has a new reason to believe the next jump is real: LaMelo Ball.
Ball’s presence changes the math for McDaniels. A high-level playmaker can make the game easier, keep McDaniels in the action, and get him cleaner looks instead of letting him drift to the edge of the offense. That showed up in Wednesday’s preseason game against the Indiana Pacers, where McDaniels took 10 shots, tied with Anthony Edwards for the team lead, and turned that volume into 16 points in 21 minutes.
It wasn’t all one type of offense, either. McDaniels got baskets both on his own and off the pass, including two makes created by Ball.
One of those was a 3-pointer that came off a terrific LaMelo feed. It’s preseason, sure, but Minnesota clearly had McDaniels featured, and that usage looks like something the Wolves want to carry into the regular season.
The fit makes sense because McDaniels already showed real growth as a shooter. He hit a career-best 41.2 percent from 3-point range last season, and Ball should only help that continue. Ball’s 3.4 attempts per game figure should climb, and when he drives and forces the defense to collapse, teammates get better looks.
The data from Databallr points in that direction, too. Kon Knueppel shot 10.3 percent better from deep with Ball on the floor, and Bridges was 7.9 percent better from 3-point range when sharing the court with him.
Ball’s value to McDaniels goes beyond spot-up threes. His ability to pull defenders toward him should open more room for McDaniels to attack closeouts and work around the rim, where he can finish and punish smaller defenders. McDaniels is an elite finisher, and that gives him a real edge when he gets the right matchup.
There’s also the simple matter of involvement. Too often before, McDaniels could disappear into the corner and fade out of the offense.
A natural passer like Ball should help prevent that. Mike Conley offered some of that in the past, but he was aging and didn’t bring the same kind of scoring gravity.
Minnesota’s roster construction may create another advantage, too: opponents could be forced to hide their weakest defender on McDaniels. If that happens, he can take advantage by attacking the basket or rising for mid-range looks. Ball should be able to spot those mismatches and get him the ball in the right spots.
Minnesota has also shown another encouraging sign in its first two preseason games. Chris Finch has drawn up more plays for McDaniels, which matters just as much as Ball’s passing.
If the Wolves are serious about unlocking him, they need both the design and the distributor. So far, they appear to have both.
That matters for the team as a whole. If McDaniels takes another step, Minnesota suddenly has one of the league’s best third options, and that’s the kind of edge that matters when a team is trying to chase a title. There’s already evidence he can handle bigger nights efficiently: in 16 of 20 games last season when he scored at least 20 points, he shot 50 percent or better from the field.
Ball can help create more of those games. And if that happens, McDaniels’ rise won’t just be a nice subplot - it could be one of the reasons the Timberwolves level up.
In Other News...
Anthony Edwards Just Became The Target Of A Brutal New Roast
Anthony Edwards has a way of making himself part of the basketball conversation even when he is nowhere near the floor, and this time it came from an Adidas commercial that drew a playful jab at Jaylen Brown and LeBron James. Brown, now with the Philadelphia 76ers, wasnt about to let that one slide, even if the back-and-forth landed in the lighter, internet-fueled corner of NBA banter rather than anything approaching real tension.
Brown answered during a live Twitch stream with teammate VJ Edgecombe, turning Edwards hairline joke back on the Timberwolves star in a way that fit the moment. It added another layer to Edwards already busy public profile, which has included off-court headlines around multiple child support cases and his recent marriage, but for Minnesota fans the immediate takeaway is simpler: their franchise centerpiece keeps finding his way into the middle of the leagues most colorful online exchanges. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Edwards Is Giving The Wolves Their Best Early Sign Yet
Anthony Edwards has spent Minnesotas preseason giving the Timberwolves exactly the kind of early signal they wanted after an offseason of recovery and roster turnover. He has been scoring efficiently in exhibition play and, just as important for a team trying to find its footing, he has looked like a player comfortable enough to keep attacking while working alongside new teammates LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga.
Chris Finch has liked what he has seen from Edwards condition, and the broader picture matters just as much as the points. If Edwards is healthy and blending naturally into the group, it gives Minnesota a far better chance to smooth out the integration period before the games start to count, even if the real test of how ready this team is will come once the regular season opens. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Get An Early Test In A Matchup Fans Should Watch Closely
The preseason opener in Miami gives the Timberwolves an immediate measuring stick, and not just because it comes at the same venue that will host their regular-season opener. With Minnesotas roster reshaped over the offseason, this matchup arrives as an early chance to see how the Wolves look against a team that can challenge them physically in the frontcourt and force them to sort through the kind of size they will see again once games start to count.
Miamis group will give Minnesota a useful stress test in that area, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo setting the tone and more size behind them to keep the pressure on. For the Wolves, the question is less about the final score and more about how their new-look rotation handles that type of matchup, which makes this one worth watching closely even in exhibition season. [Read more 🡒]