{"id":204777,"date":"2026-07-11T12:18:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T16:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=204777"},"modified":"2026-07-11T12:18:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T16:18:19","slug":"finch-mcdaniels-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/07\/11\/finch-mcdaniels-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Finch Did One Thing Differently To Unlock Jaden McDaniels"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, <\/span>Jaden McDaniels<\/span><\/a> built his value by making life difficult for the NBA’s best scorers. Defense became his identity, even as flashes of offensive growth appeared every season. The Minnesota Timberwolves always believed there was more to his game, but giving him consistent chances was never simple. According to head coach Chris Finch, that finally changed during the 2025-26 season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chris Finch Did One Thing Differently To Unlock Jaden McDaniels<\/span><\/h2>\n

Chris Finch Saw Steady Growth<\/span><\/h3>\n

McDaniels’ offensive improvement did not surprise the Timberwolves coaching staff. Finch explained that the forward had been adding to his game over several seasons. The bigger change came from the team’s willingness to involve him more often. Instead of asking him to wait for open shots, Minnesota created more possessions with the ball in his hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finch believes that progress had been there all along. He <\/span>said<\/span><\/a>, “He just continues to get a little bit better every year at things that he’s had in his game, and we’ve just been able to put him in a position or have the opportunities to kind of better utilize it.” Those comments suggest the coaching staff viewed opportunity, not talent, as the missing piece.<\/span><\/p>\n