Game Thread: Brooklyn Nets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, 7:30 PM EST

Here. We. Go. The 2019-20 NBA season is upon us as the Brooklyn Nets open up Wednesday night at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The beginning of the Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert backcourt era, as they take on Karl-Anthony Towns and...Andrew Wiggins?

Let’s get it.

WHO: Nets vs. Timberwolves

WHEN: 7:30 PM EST

WHERE: YES Network (tv), WFAN (radio)

GAME PREVIEW:

Welcome to the Kyrie Irving show. Now that the lights are bright, Irving will get to wow his new fans here in Brooklyn. One area in which he’ll pay dividends is in shots inside of five feet. As a team, the Nets were near the bottom of the league in field goal percentage inside of five feet. Irving has a history of great finishes at the rim, and that should open things up for Kenny Atkinson’s offense. Jeff Teague will get the first crack at Irving, and Ryan Saunders figures to throw a bevy of looks at Irving throughout the night. Look for Josh Okogie to get a lot of time on Irving.

It’s been five seasons, and the best we can say about Andrew Wiggins is he’s durable. He’s only missed ten games in five seasons and is consistently one of the league leaders in minutes per game. The big problem is he hasn’t been able to put together a good season yet despite all of the opportunities presented to him thus far. Wiggins was a little annoyed that he didn’t rate among the Top 100 players in ESPN’s annual rankings, but he’s got to start putting good, consistent play together if he wants to earn that respect. It’s been long enough.

Catch up on the Timberwolves: Canis Hoopus