Carmelo Anthony gets real about Jaden McDaniels’ trash talk

The Minnesota Timberwolves love to trash-talk, which isn’t surprising when Anthony Edwards is your emotional leader. However, it wasn’t Edwards who got things going after Minnesota’s Game 2 win on Monday night when Jaden McDaniels called out Denver’s poor defense. While it is part of Minnesota’s identity to get under the other team’s skin, Carmelo Anthony didn’t agree with waking up the sleeping giant that is Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, according to NBA Courtside via X, formerly Twitter.

“That’s grown man talk. You didn’t beat around the bush, you called names out…. When you have that type of passion about the point you’re trying to make, it’s on. It was already a rivalry, it’s personal now,” Carmelo stated. “Now Jokic is sitting back like ‘I got something for you now.’ Hearing this will take him to a whole other level… This is war, this is chess… If you don’t win game 3, though, we’ll have to have a conversation.”

The ironic thing about McDaniels calling out the Nuggets’ defense is that he was the Timberwolves’ fourth-leading scorer, with Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, and Julius Randle all contributing more. While Jaden McDaniels affects the game in other ways, it might not go over well with the Timberwolves if this causes the Nuggets to play some tougher defense in Game 3.

The Timberwolves have an incredible home-court advantage, especially in the postseason. After stealing Game 2 on the road, it’s not surprising that they have a little extra swagger heading into a crucial swing game on Thursday night.