With the NBA regular season on the horizon, the league has begun preparations for the upcoming preseason games. Like every year, the fans will get a glimpse at how well the new talents blend into the existing squad. Last season, one of the youngest teams (25.7 years) that showed a lot of potential but couldn’t reach their ultimate goal, was the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Despite climbing up the top of the table and garnering praise from the hoop experts, they were stopped in their tracks by the Mavs in the WCF. However, this time they will be prepared for the fierce actions right from the warm-up games as they have an exciting schedule lined up for the preseason games.

Preseason schedule

The Timberwolves will gather on the first day of October for their official training. For their opening game, the T’Wolves will visit California, where they will face off against the most successful Western Conference team, the LA Lakers, at the Acrisure Arena on October 4. The LA side might not be at their peak right now, but after closely witnessing LeBron James‘ actions on the Olympic stage, Anthony Edwards would certainly alert his teammates about what they are stepping into. Historically, the Lakers have had the upper hand with their 85 regular season wins over the Timberwolves’ 44, but lately, the Wolves have displayed superiority, especially last season when the teams met four times and the Minnesota side took 3 dubs. So, to not miss high-end basketball, keep your eyes on the monitor at 9:30 PM CDT to watch the Lakers versus Timberwolves.

Following the tough game, the Timberwolves will get a long break before they meet their Eastern opponents, the Philadelphia 76ers. For the record, don’t expect the Sixers to look the same this preseason because veteran guard Paul George will join Joel Embiid to give fans a thrilling experience. With the Cameroonian guard’s leadership, the team recorded a 50% victory in the last two seasons when the teams played four regular season games. Even in the overall performance, the teams are closely matched, holding a record of 34-32, with Philly in the lead. The Timberwolves will travel to the Sixers’ home arena to entertain the Wells Fargo Arena crowd with their action-packed performance on October 11 at 6 PM CDT.

For their next road game, the Timberwolves will compete against the New York Knicks, where the tough crowd of Madison Square Garden will host them. The two teams had met 66 times earlier in the regular season games, where the NY side bagged 36 victories while the T’Wolves were not too far behind. As per recent matchups, it’ll be hard to say which side will end up with the win on October 13. Stay tuned at 6 PM CDT to watch the neck-to-neck battle on hardwood.

For their final on-road fixture, the Timberwolves will march to the United Center where the DeMar DeRozan-less Chicago Bulls will wait for them. Some might feel that the Bulls made a mistake by letting the swingman go, but they have rebuilt their roster, which could turn out to be a positive sign for the team in the upcoming season. Previously, they’ve had a 39-28 regular season record against the Timberwolves and even tasted major success in both the times they met last season in the regular season games. So, to watch what the Chicago-based franchise will showcase in the regular season, keep an eye on the October 16th preseason game at 7 PM CDT.

Finally, after a hectic preseason schedule, the Timberwolves will return home, to the Target Center to face the Denver Nuggets. Denver had an advantage of 89 regular season wins over their 56 victories, but the picture was very different in the 2024 playoffs, a semi-final series that the Nuggets would want to erase from their memories. The series was so intense that it went on till the seventh game to determine the winner. Despite Nikola Jokic giving his best, it fell short of the T’Wolves’ masterclass defense. The Serbian would surely come back on October 18 at 7 PM CDT to take revenge for breaking their title-defending dreams.

Timberwolves’ offseason adjustments

From their existing roster, the Timberwolves traded their forward Kyle Anderson to the Warriors, who was a part of the organization for two seasons. Seems like the franchise decided to settle with Rudy Gobert after their infamous physical altercation.

They decided to end their terms with PG Monte Morris who couldn’t get much time to show his potential in the franchise’s colors. Guard Jordan McLaughlin and swingman Wendell Moore Jr. will also not be seen in the Timberwolves squad next season. To balance the roster, the franchise added experienced players like PJ Dozier, and Joe Ingles and newbie talents such as Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. The team also got two G-league talents, Skylar Mays and Eugene Omoruyi, on board.

Depth Chart

The Timberwolves performed remarkably last season finishing with a 56-26 record last season. To display consistency, the team might stick to their previous choices while setting up their roster for the preseason as well as regular season games. To start the games, their obvious choices would be Anthony Edwards leading the offense and the defensive duo Gobert and Towns showing their chemistry. Let’s have a look at their depth chart, as per ESPN.

According to FanDuel, the Timberwolves have +1200 odds of winning the championship title in the upcoming season. The crucial preseason games will provide a sneak peek of what their actual game plan will be for the 2024-2025 season. And knowing Anthony Edwards, he’d certainly like to ask the rest of the NBA to humbly “Bring ya as*” to Minnesota.