GameThread -6: vs. Raptors

Educational video on tonight's opponents with some really excited scientists.

Game Time: 7:00pm CST | No Broadcast

Tonight is the first NBA game at the Target Center since Ike Diogu dropped 28 points in 39 minutes on the Wolves last April 15 to close out a 24 win season. Meanwhile, Kevin Love played 27 minutes yet still managed a 12/10 performance.

While preseason minutes for Love, Al Jefferson, Ramon Sessions and Jonny Flynn be truncated from the regular burn they'll get, tonight is the first opportunity for the Wolves to show their beleaguered fans that this is the start of something new. There's never any benefit in placing unwarranted importance on preseason games (after all, the Wolves went 6-2 last year). But it will be interesting to see how some of the Wolves' lineups handle court-time together.

Only Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani return to Toronto from last year's squad. The one team that had more roster turnover since last opening day? You guessed it, Minnesota. Toronto's core trio will be integrating Hedo Turkoglu, Jarrett Jack, Reggie Evans, Amir Johnson, Marco Belinelli, Antoine Wright and DeMar Derozan into the rotation. In this sense, preseason is important for both teams. Building chemistry early is critical with so many new bodies.

Strong chemistry will help the Wolves exit this season showing significant growth from where they were last year. A critical accomplishment in order to keep this summer's optimism and fan excitement going next summer.