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Timberwolves schedule released with 25 national TV games

By Collin Kottke

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Head coach Tom Thibodeau of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on against the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center on January 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Head coach Tom Thibodeau of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on against the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center on January 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Timberwolves and the NBA released their regular season schedule on Monday evening.

The offseason has been full of anticipation for Minnesota Timberwolves fans. Between the addition of Jimmy Butler, the renovation of Target Center and new jerseys, well, Timberwolves fans have been wondering when the team will actually be seen on the court. The answers were given out on Monday evening.

The Timberwolves will have their first game of the season on October 18. That will be a road game against the San Antonio Spurs. This is the fourth straight season the Wolves will start on the road.

Minnesota opens up the home schedule two days later with a game against the Utah Jazz on October 20. That will be the first public event held in the fresh digs of Target Center. It will also be the return of Ricky Rubio. Get your popcorn ready.

A good chunk of the season will be seen across the country as the Timberwolves have been named to 25 national TV games. The Wolves will be on ESPN nine times, eight times on TNT and once on ABC. The Timberwolves’ website points out that all eight games from February 26 through March 18 will be nationally televised.

The nationally televised games might get Timberwolves fans more of the awesome combination of Jim Petersen and Alan Horton on the radio broadcasts.

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TNT and ABC have exclusive TV rights to their games. That means that those games won’t be shown on FOX Sports North, thus allowing Petersen to jump from TV to radio for those games.

The nationally televised games increase is probably a contributing factor in the most disappointing part of the Timberwolves schedule. Minnesota will play 15 back-to-backs this season which is one more than last season. That is despite the NBA starting the season earlier to help to try and eliminate more back-to-backs.

Minnesota also has a couple nice home stands:

Let’s end the schedule breakdown with a good note. The Wolves will play all Western Conference teams four times each with the exception of four teams that the Wolves will only face three times. The Wolves will only face the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings.

More fun facts on the schedule can be found on the Timberwolves website.

Next: An updated Vikings roster prediction!

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