It’s unclear how much time Jaden McDaniels will miss after suffering a right ankle sprain in Minnesota’s 117-110 win over the Knicks on Monday night, but head coach Chris Finch confirmed Tuesday morning that it’s “certainly not going to be a day-to-day” situation.
“It’ll probably be a week or so, but we’ll get some tests today,” Finch said in an interview with KFAN’s Paul Allen. “Unfortunate, he’s been playing so well for us. But Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s just been an absolute godsend when it comes to defense and impact off the bench, so I’m sure he’ll pick up a lot of those minutes.”
McDaniels turned his ankle when he stepped on the foot of Karl-Anthony Towns just 4 1/2 minutes into the game. He was able to walk off the floor under his own power the the Wolves almost immediately ruled him out for the rest of the game.
Alexander-Walker will likely slide into the starting lineup – just as he did when McDaniels missed the start of the season with a calf injury – for however long McDaniels is out.
That means he could be guarding Tyrese Maxey when the Philadelphia 76ers come to Target Center Wednesday night. Maxey has been sensational for the Sixers, averaging 26.8 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 44.6% from 3-point range this season.
