MIN 124, POR 121: MIN Escapes, Jaden McDaniels Posts 77 ESPN FP
Tommy Flanagan
Journeyman Electrician ยท Boston Celtics fan
Jaden McDaniels Just Became a Problem (For Fantasy Reasons)
Look, the Timberwolves squeaked past Portland 124-121, but if you own Jaden McDaniels in any league, you're not worried about the final score. You're sitting there refreshing your app trying to figure out what just happened.
McDaniels went absolutely nuclear. 29 points on 12-16 shooting (75% FG), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 5 threes. He dropped 60.2 Yahoo FP. That's not a normal night, that's a "maybe this guy is actually good" night. Season average is 14.9/4.4/2.9. Tonight he was +14.1 points, more than doubling his output. On 37 minutes of crisp, efficient basketball.
Here's the thing: McDaniels has been a depth guy all season. You picked him up off waivers or grabbed him in the 8th round thinking "eh, could be useful." Now he just put up the kind of numbers that get people added in leagues where he was sitting untouched. ESPN ownership probably jumped 5% overnight.
Is this sustainable? Honestly, that's the million dollar question. The shot selection was clean, the efficiency was real, and he attacked when Portland couldn't stay in front of him. But this is still a 24-year-old who averages 14.9 PPG. One monster game doesn't make him a first-line fantasy asset. It makes him interesting. Hold him. Monitor if this becomes a pattern. If McDaniels hits 25+ twice more in the next week, then we start having a different conversation.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaden McDaniels | 77.0 | 60.2 | 29/6/2 | 14.9/4.4/2.9 | +14.1 |
| Donovan Clingan | 55.0 | 50.7 | 11/16/5 | 11.9/11.5/2.1 | -0.9 |
| Anthony Edwards | 41.0 | 45.8 | 34/4/4 | 29.5/5.3/3.6 | +4.5 |
| Rudy Gobert | 46.0 | 44.8 | 10/19/4 | 11.2/11.3/1.7 | -1.2 |
| Jerami Grant | 27.0 | 33.0 | 21/5/2 | 18.5/3.5/2.3 | +2.5 |
| Scoot Henderson | 28.0 | 31.7 | 19/6/5 | 13.0/2.8/5.2 | +6.0 |
| Julius Randle | 32.0 | 31.4 | 13/7/6 | 22.1/6.9/5.3 | -9.1 |
| Donte DiVincenzo | 40.0 | 31.2 | 19/1/4 | 12.7/4.5/4.2 | +6.3 |
| Jrue Holiday | 30.0 | 29.6 | 22/3/4 | 15.5/4.6/6.3 | +6.5 |
| Kris Murray | 36.0 | 29.5 | 16/5/1 | 5.9/3.9/1.2 | +10.1 |
The Usual Suspects Still Showed Up
Anthony Edwards went for 34 points on 11-27 shooting. Yeah, the FG% isn't pristine, but he also hit 5 threes and 7-10 from the line. 45.8 Yahoo FP is solid work, even if it's just slightly above his 29.5 PPG average. This is what you want from a First-Team All-NBA guy: consistency. Not flashy, just "he's gonna get you buckets."
Rudy Gobert grabbed 19 boards. Nineteen. He's a season average of 11.3, so +7.7 rebounding is a gift-wrapped performance. 44.8 Yahoo FP from a big who doesn't shoot threes. You take that and move on.
The Timberwolves won because they had three guys who played well and didn't completely implode. That's playoff basketball in February.
The Blazers Got Carried (But Not Where You'd Think)
Donovan Clingan put up 11/16/5 in 35 minutes. His season splits are 11.9/11.5/2.1, so he basically put up a normal game on the boards (+4.5 rebounds) but stayed quiet on the scoring end. 50.7 Yahoo FP is solid but not exciting. He's exactly what you drafted him to be: a reliable double-double threat with some defensive upside. Not a league winner, just consistent.
Jrue Holiday was the real story for Portland. 22 points, 3 assists, 4 steals on 9-17 shooting. That's 29.6 Yahoo FP and +6.5 points above his season average. First-Team All-Defensive doesn't age out, and Holiday still has that ability to take over a game defensively while chipping in offensively. If he keeps getting 33 minutes like tonight, this is a guy you want rostered.
Scoot Henderson played 29 minutes and dropped 19/6/5 with a plus-6.0 scoring game. He's averaging 13.0 PPG, so this isn't earth-shattering, but the fact that he's getting real minutes and doing something with them matters. Dude's 20 years old. Games like this are how you figure out if a young guy can actually contribute.
The Wrinkle That Matters: Role Compression
Julius Randle went 13/7/6 in 30 minutes but scored 9 points below his season average. That's not on him, that's on the Timberwolves' depth guys stepping up. Donte DiVincenzo was 7-13 from the field and hit 5 threes for 31.2 Yahoo FP. That's a +6.3 scoring night. Naz Reid got 22 minutes off the bench. Ayo Dosunmu got 23 minutes.
The Timberwolves have enough bodies that on any given night, three or four guys can pop off. That's good for the team, bad for consistency in fantasy. Randle is still your guy, but his floor got lower tonight and his ceiling got more crowded.
Waiver Wire Reality Check
Kris Murray hit 16 points on 7-10 shooting with 2 threes in 28 minutes. That's +10.1 above his season average of 5.9 PPG. Is he droppable? Maybe not yet. Is he a league winner? Absolutely not. This is the definition of a game-to-game dart throw. If Portland keeps running minutes his way, he could carve out a role, but betting your season on Murray is how you end up mad on Sunday.
Jerami Grant shot 3-11 but lived at the free throw line, going 13-15. 33.0 Yahoo FP on a down shooting night is exactly what you want from a scorer who doesn't need the volume to produce. He's still a buy-low candidate if someone got spooked by the three-point attempt rate.
The Honest Take
Minnesota escaped Portland because they have more talent. McDaniels had a career night. Edwards did his thing. Gobert cleaned glass like he gets paid for it (which, to be fair, he does). Portland fought, got some good games from Holiday and Henderson, but it wasn't enough.
For fantasy purposes, this game is a reminder that depth matters and one game doesn't make a season. McDaniels probably gets picked up. Kris Murray probably gets ignored again next week. Edwards stays your first-rounder. Gobert keeps being exactly what he is.
The Timberwolves are built to win close games because they've got five guys who can go off any given night. That's great for Minnesota. For fantasy, it means pick your stars and hold tight.