McDaniels: Wolves will 'compete at an all-time level' against OKC, BOS

The Wolves play two of the best teams in the NBA this week.

Nov 24, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) tries to drive through Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) during the first half at TD Garden. / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The Timberwolves have their hands full over the next few days. Riding a slight three-game winning streak — with those wins coming by a combined nine points — the 17-14 Wolves are gearing up to play two of the NBA's best teams this week. They're in Oklahoma City to face the 26-5 Thunder on Tuesday night before returning home to kick off 2025 against the 23-9, defending champion Celtics in a national TV game on Thursday.

Even salvaging a split out of the two games will be a tall task. But Jaden McDaniels believes the Wolves are up for the challenge that this stretch presents.

"(We're) right up there with those teams," McDaniels said, via radio announcer Alan Horton. "Our record might not show it, but I feel like we're one of the best teams. We're gonna compete at an all-time level, we're ready for it."

It starts against the Thunder on New Year's Eve. OKC sits atop the Western Conference and has a five-game lead on the second-place Grizzlies. Their +12.1 net rating is the best in the NBA.

Outside of a dud against the Bucks in the NBA Cup championship a couple weeks ago, the Thunder haven't lost in almost a full month. They've won 11 consecutive games that count in the standings, last falling to the Rockets on Dec. 1. They're 13-2 at home, with one of those losses coming by two points against the Mavericks.

Oklahoma City has a very strong case as the best team in the NBA. They're led by MVP contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averages 31 points and 6 assists per game on 52 percent shooting. Jalen Williams (21 PPG) is an outstanding Robin to SGA's Batman. Having Isaiah Hartenstein has helped the Thunder overcome Chet Holmgren's extended injury absence. And OKC has one of the deeper rosters in the league, though they're also currently without Alex Caruso due to injury.

The Wolves will have to play one of their better games of the season to beat the Thunder on the road tonight as 6.5-point underdogs.

Then they'll face off at Target Center against the Celtics, who beat them 107-105 in Boston in late November. The Celtics were 21-5 in mid-December but have surprisingly lost four of their last six games, three of which came against teams with sub-.500 records. They're still third in the league with a +9.4 net rating and are getting Jrue Holiday back against the Raptors on Tuesday after he missed the last three games. Kristaps Porzingis won't play Tuesday and his status is up in the air ahead of Thursday's game in Minnesota.

Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics are the NBA's highest-volume team in terms of three-point attempts (nearly 51 per game). When they're hitting from deep, they're almost impossible to beat, but they can be vulnerable when those shots aren't falling. The last time the Celtics played in Minneapolis, Anthony Edwards scored 38 points in an overtime victory in November 2023.

The Wolves need everyone to play well this week to avoid a pair of losses. They need more from Edwards, who is in a bit of a slump. They need more from McDaniels, who has had a highly disappointing season on the offensive end of the floor. And it would certainly help if Donte DiVincenzo can stay hot.

These two games will be big-time tests to see where the Wolves are at this point of the season.