Nuggets fire back at Jaden McDaniels over 'all bad defenders' criticism: 'I can't wait for his podcast'

Asked again about McDaniels' quote, Adelman said: "He's a really good player. Everybody has a sounding board nowadays. It'll help his social media."

Johnson told reporters that the comments can serve as bulletin board material, but said that he's "not entertaining those antics" (via ESPN).

He added: "They've just been saying a lot. All season, all series. So let 'em talk. Let 'em get everything they want off their chest. I'm cool with it."

Denver's Christian Braun, meanwhile, told reporters that "you shouldn't need a fire lit under you in the playoffs," dismissing the notion that McDaniels' quote would be a significant source of motivation. He also said he wasn't surprised by it.

"This is just a part of the rivalry," Braun said (via ESPN). "I think that's kind of just part of what comes with it. I don't think it caught anybody off guard. He's kind of speaking his truth and what he believes, and we'll allow them to do that. We kind of want to take care of our own things to make sure we handle our business on our side."

I'm not sure how much actual basketball analysis this storyline demands, but it's probably worth noting that the Nuggets finished the regular season ranked No. 21 on defense. Some of that can be chalked up to injuries -- Gordon appeared in only 36 games -- but having the sixth-best playoff defense through two games hardly proves that Denver has turned into a juggernaut on that end.

In the Game 2 loss that evened the series, the Nuggets struggled specifically against Minnesota's small lineups: during the 20 minutes that Rudy Gobert was off the court, the Wolves scored an outrageous 142.2 points per 100 possessions. Denver had a tough time getting stops down the stretch, too.

In other words, McDaniels is clearly speaking from his hyperbolic chamber, and the Nuggets are probably right to (mostly) laugh this off. But they definitely have some defensive problems to solve.