The Timberwolves’ Jaden McDaniels let his intrusive thoughts fly. They had just beaten the Nuggets on the road, recovering from an abysmal first quarter. But McDaniels, rather than analyze the repairing measures, attacked the Nuggets. And he spared nobody. “They are all bad defenders,” he said, name-calling Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and others.

The NBA community loved that the Wolves’ dynamic forward brought the fire to the postseason. However, Charles Barkley felt like it was a mistake. While on Inside the NBA, Chuck detailed how McDaniels may have just marched in front of a hungry bear, that being the Nuggets.

“I don’t think he should’ve said that. Because you don’t poke the bear. You don’t poke the bear. You can think that, and we’ve all said stuff like that in the locker room, and coaches have said it to players, and players have said it to coaches. But I don’t think you poke the bear in the middle of the series… No, it’s not about being scared. It’s hard enough to win,” Barkley said.

History has proven Barkley’s point time and again. The most recent, cautionary tale came in the 2023 playoffs, when Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks decided to poke the ultimate bear- LeBron James. After Game 2, Brooks called James “old” and declared he didn’t respect him until James scored 40 points on him.

The Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic is no LeBron, but the lesson that followed was unmistakable. Brooks averaged just 10.5 points on 31.2% shooting against the Lakers amid the media circus around his jabs, while James responded by averaging 22.2 points on 48.6% shooting- including a 22-point, 20-rebound performance in Game 4

Brooks was booed relentlessly from the moment he stepped off the team bus in Los Angeles, was ejected in Game 3, and the second-seeded Grizzlies were ultimately upset by the seventh-seeded Lakers.

McDaniels may be more skilled than Brooks and the Timberwolves far better positioned than those Grizzlies were, but the blueprint for what bulletin board material can do to a wounded opponent is written in Memphis’s postseason obituary.

Jaden McDaniels may have created a monster. Maybe some players on the Nuggets wouldn’t mind. But think about the likes of Aaron Gordon or Bruce Brown, who are competent defenders. When asked about McDaniels calling the Nuggets, and Gordon specifically—“bad defenders,” Gordon replied with a slight smile: “I don’t care.”

They will be charged up the next time they face the Timberwolves in Minnesota. Barkley’s point is to avoid creating a difficult pathway for the team.

As much as Minnesota’s plan worked, outscoring the Nuggets in the paint and getting second-chance points, Denver is now waiting to exact revenge. They are a side that just lost their home-court advantage and, on top of that, experienced a pointed attack. The Nuggets will likely come out in Game 3 with a point to prove.

When asked about McDaniels’ criticism, David Adelman pointed to the Nuggets’ 109 defensive rating in the postseason- sixth best in the playoffs at the time of their interview. Naturally, you would also expect Nikola Jokic to be more aggressive with their backs on the wall. However, are they really the bears in this series?

A battle for bragging rights and the season

These two teams have developed a rivalry in the postseason over the past few years. In 2023, the Nuggets took five games to wash away the Timberwolves. Next season, Minnesota got its revenge, winning a thrilling seven-game series to even the scores. This is their third time facing each other in four years, and everything is on the line.

Internally, the Nuggets aren’t focused on McDaniels’ comments. “It’s part of the rivalry. 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,” said the Nuggets’ Christian Braun.

In the regular season, the Nuggets held the upper hand. They won three of the four contests against Anthony Edwards and Co. But the playoffs have shown some interesting developments. Minnesota has held Nikola Jokic to 24.5 points while shooting under 50% from the field. Furthermore, they’ve forced 8 turnovers from him in their two games this series. Until that changes, and the Joker imposes himself, it’s really anybody’s series.

Jamal Murray remains an outlier. But he was slowed down in the second half after the Timberwolves relentlessly attacked the Nuggets’ defense. Fatigue played a major role in their fourth-quarter crumbling. And now, they travel to Minnesota, in a hostile environment and with a loss on their heads.

They are also aware of the Timberwolves’ game plan to an extent. The question is, can they stop Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle from tiring their defense out? For the Timberwolves, can they continue to slow down Nikola Jokic if the three-time MVP comes with the intent of scoring the ball?

Across the series, both teams have been successful in executing their game plan one at a time. But the Timberwolves have completed the harder task of winning on the road. Until the Nuggets do that, Minnesota is the bear in the series. And Jaden McDaniels’ comments resonated with the power shift.

Do you think Jokic and Co. can take control of the series in Minnesota? Let us know your views in the comments below.