WATCH: Jaden McDaniels fractures hand after PUNCHING WALL during Timberwolves’ win over Pelicans
After failing to make a key contribution to the team's score, Jaden McDaniels punched the tunnel wall in frustration.
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Jaden McDaniels (Image via Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)
The game of basketball has its moments of frustration and anger. While some players take it out verbally on the court, some take a physical route to vent their feelings. With the 2022-23 NBA regular season on its last day, players certainly felt the postseason pressure. In the game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New Orleans Pelicans, forward Jaden McDaniels had just one of those rough days.
The Timberwolves were trailing at halftime to the Pelicans with the score at 47-55. McDaniels, being one of the Wolves’ reliable players, had failed to score a point in the first two quarters. Keeping postseason expectations aside, not scoring in a game is demoralizing for any player. Before going into the locker room, McDaniels had played for over nine minutes but barely had anything on his stat line, with just one solitary rebound.
At halftime, while Jaden McDaniels was walking toward the locker room had a shocking lapse in judgment. The Timberwolves forward was seen punching the wall in frustration as he entered the tunnel. Almost immediately after, McDaniels was seen holding his hand, indicating that he had hurt himself. In a report that followed, McDaniels was said to have fractured his hand and was ruled out of the game. The forward will miss the Play-In game for the 7th seed against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Earlier in the game, another Timberwolves player Rudy Gobert was sent home from the game for punching his teammate Kyle Anderson. While Jaden McDaniels is confirmed to miss out, Gobert’s status for the Play-In is not confirmed as of now. If Gobert ends up missing out, the Wolves will be playing without two key starters.
What does the Timberwolves’ postseason schedule look like?
The regular season has finally come to an end, and we finally have a locked Playoffs Picture after weeks of speculations. The Denver Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks lead the West and the East, respectively. However, the competition between all the remaining 20 teams promises to be exciting and full of action.
The first postseason games will be played on the night of the 11th of April. Game one has the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls locking horns, whereas game two will have the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have gathered wonderful momentum going into the Play-In by picking up their 43rd win of the season.
The Timberwolves will have to put a mighty competition in order to come out victorious against the Lakers. If they win that game, they will clinch the seventh seed in the Playoffs to face the Memphis Grizzlies in a seven-game first-round series. However, if they fall to the Lakers, all hope is still not lost. The Wolves will then take on the loser between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The winner of that game then clinches the eighth seed to face the Denver Nuggets.
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Jay Lokegaonkar
(46 Articles Published)