Jaden McDaniels labels Nuggets 'all bad defenders' after Timberwolves' Game 2 playoff win

"Yeah, they're all bad defenders," McDaniels confirmed. "They don't got people that can defend the rim, and if he is there, we're still more athletic than him and just gotta be able to finish when we do."

The Jokić and Murray part isn't exactly bulletin board material, as the book on Denver for years has been trying to make Jokić defend in space and to take advantage of Murray's lack of size by putting him in actions on the perimeter. That was how Minnesota began to make its move in the second quarter to claw back into the game, with Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle working the two-man game to spark the offense.

When the Nuggets were at their best, they had versatile defenders around that dominant offensive duo who could cover for their defensive weaknesses. The question for this current Nuggets team is whether they have that same kind of floor balance to make a run at a title or if they can be picked apart to the degree McDaniels seems to think is possible.

The clip above will get plenty of run in both markets, and you can tell McDaniels really starts to feel it once he moves beyond highlighting Jokić and Murray. By the time he throws in Aaron Gordon -- who is objectively Denver's best defender -- he's really cooking.

A team shouldn't need any added juice for the playoffs, especially against an opponent that has become one of their main rivals, but the Nuggets will undoubtedly pass this around and hope to make McDaniels eat his words by the end of this series. The Wolves, meanwhile, will love McDaniels' bravado and try to prove him right by continuing to carve up the Denver defense back home in Minnesota, where they can seize control of the series with two wins to take a 3-1 lead.