Game Info

• Who: Brooklyn Nets (1-2) at Minnesota Timberwolves (4-0)
• When: 7:00 PM CT
• TV: Bally Sports North
• Radio: 830 WCCO-AM
• Line: Wolves -3.5 (courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

For better or worse in your eyes, the title picture of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert is on your timeline again.

My hands are tied on this one; Towns was not at media day to take pictures next to Gobert and other members of the team, and neither of them have played next to each other. There haven’t been many opportunities outside of quick camera cuts to the bench to see them together...until tonight!

What To Watch For

Pretty obvious one here. For the first time since the big acquisition on July 1, the basketball world will see the return of two all-star level bigs playing next to each other, for perhaps the first time since DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis did it in New Orleans.

The idea of zagging while the rest of the league zigs in the world of small ball has been chatted about ad nauseam this summer, waiting for the vision of Head Coach Chris Finch and new President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly to take shape. We won’t necessarily see the latter take place on Friday, but the first steps towards it will be taken.

Not only will it be important to see how Towns and Gobert fit next to each other, but how other members of the starting lineup adapt to the change as well. The pick and roll was a little shaky out of the gate against the Lakers last week, and it frankly seemed that the likes of Russell and Edwards, for good reason, were not used to having as much space as they did off the pick to be able to get to their spots and get a shot off.

Bleacher Report

How does that change with another game under everyone’s belt? How does a prolific shooter like KAT in the lineup allow actions to be run, capitalizing on the potential attention Rudy’s screens provide for shooters? A couple things to monitor.

Picking Against The Spread

While it may sound homer, I still like the Wolves -3.5. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving played pretty deep into their last game against the Bucks, and wouldn’t be surprised to see more of a minutes limit in an away tilt.

Nic Claxton has shown promise, but I wouldn’t even begin to be able to explain some of the issues that would exist if he had a great night. Looking into late-game situations, the Wolves have been able to flex consistent depth throughout the preseason, and tonight would be another situation that’s no different in terms of having a few pieces that are just a little better at the end of the bench.

Injury Report

Minnesota

Taurean Prince - Questionable

Eric Paschall - Questionable

Jordan McLaughlin - Questionable

PJ Dozier - OUT

Brooklyn

Joe Harris - OUT

Seth Curry - OUT