Jaden McDaniels Gets Honest About His Flagrant Foul On Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

A big part of the discourse surrounding the Western Conference Finals is the fouls being called on players who try to defend Gilgeous-Alexander. Like most MVP-level players, he does well in drawing contact, but he gets flak for manipulating the game.

This includes hooking his defenders' arms to initiate contact that could be called for fouls. Since McDaniels is the primary recipient of these hooks, he gets frustrated, which leads to the flagrant foul in the fourth quarter of Game 2.

McDaniels Was Candid About The Flagrant Foul

Even if he is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, good offense always trumps good defense in the NBA. That has been the story of the series between the Timberwolves and Thunder because Gilgeous-Alexander is outright better than McDaniels.

It can be frustrating for any defender to go against SGA because of how he controls his pace and the frustrating manipulation of referees. However, that is how superstars operate, especially since many stars from the past have done the same.

McDaniels was visibly frustrated at Gilgeous-Alexander not getting penalized for the hooks, so he took it upon himself to foul him. Unfortunately, it was a flagrant foul, but it does not look like he regrets doing it.

"I just wanted to foul him for real. I wasn't even mad I just had fouls to use," McDaniels said about the flagrant foul.

McDaniels Believes The Timberwolves Can Still Win

The Timberwolves have lost the first two games by an average margin of 20.5 points. That is not the number the Timberwolves and their fans want to see. However, they have shown some promising signs in the two games, especially with Anthony Edwards returning to his peak form in Game 2.

Unfortunately, Julius Randle did not have the best game, scoring only six points. He did not play in the fourth quarter of Game 2. Coach Chris Finch has some work to do by preparing his team to bounce back on their home floor.  

McDaniels believes the Timberwolves can be more successful by being more confident with their play. 

"I'll say it's just poor shooting nights. They're kinda short closing a little bit, so we just gotta not think twice, and let it fly really. Be confident in what we can do," McDaniels said after Game 2. "We gotta be desperate like every possession matters. Like every game, everything matters... Just gotta play smarter than what we are."