Minnesota Timberwolves: Four things to watch for in the home opener

Target Center is remodeled and ready to go, we’ll quickly find out if the Minnesota Timberwolves are in their home opener against the Utah Jazz.

All NBA teams have finally hit the court and thankfully the Minnesota Timberwolves are a team that wasn’t bit by the injury, sometimes quite gruesome injury, bug in the first games of the season. The Timberwolves lost in their season opener to the San Antonio Spurs, but they look to rebound in their home opener against the Utah Jazz. We have a few things to look for in that game.

Ricky Rubio’s return

Before this season Ricky Rubio hadn’t played a single NBA game as a member of any other team than the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rubio is now a member of the Utah Jazz after being traded by the Wolves this past offseason and Rubio will return to Target Center early in his time away.

It’s more than likely that Rubio will get a standing ovation from the Minneapolis for good reason. Rubio was a fan favorite and, mostly, played well. The Timberwolves underachieved during Rubio’s tenure with the team, but that is not fully his fault.

In pure Minnesota sports fashion, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Rubio have a fabulous game on his old home court.

Andrew Wiggins’ continuation

The Timberwolves lost their opener, but Andrew Wiggins sure looked good. In the third quarter especially, Wiggins couldn’t seem to miss a shot and it was quite fun to watch. That is the Wiggins that Timberwolves fans thought they’d see and that they need to see going forward.

Look to see if Wiggins can continue his great play in the home opener. Especially look for Wiggins’ three-point shooting. Wiggins looked good from deep against the Spurs and did early last season, so hopefully it can continue on.

Jimmy Butler’s arrival

This past offseason was one of the busiest in the history of the Timberwolves. The team might have brought in the biggest fish they ever brought in with the acquisition of Jimmy Butler, but Butler didn’t exactly leave a huge imprint in the season opener. Look for that to change in the home opener.

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Butler only contributed 12 points against the Spurs. Butler did other things, but to keep fans that might not be anything more than casual, Butler needs to put up a little more in the points column. An offensive explosion from the All-Star might be in the works against the Jazz.

Target Center’s grand re-opening

This is your warning that you’re going to hear a whole lot about the arena itself on Friday night. Be it on TV, on the radio or in the arena, the totally remodeled digs are going to be one of the main talking points and for good reason. I had the honor of touring the under construction remodel of Target Center a couple of months ago, it was a totally different arena then and it has come a long way since.

Look around if you are lucky enough to have a ticket to the true ushering in of the new era of Timberwolves basketball. If you’re watching on TV, look around the court and take in the new court.

Next: Four things the Wolves need for success

The Timberwolves and Jazz are scheduled for a 7:00 Central tipoff. The divisional matchup can be seen on Fox Sports North and heard on the Timberwolves Radio Network including the flagship 830 AM WCCO.