Timberwolves at Nets
Kyrie Irving's time in Boston did not play out as planned, but he has hit the reset button in Brooklyn and will make his regular-season debut for the Nets on Wednesday against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves. The six-time All-Star put up big numbers in his two seasons with the Celtics but was a lightning rod at times for an organization that had some turmoil in the locker room while falling short of its high expectations.
Irving will eventually be joined on the floor by superstar Kevin Durant - likely out for the year with an Achilles injury - and expects to be a leader once again after admittedly falling short in Boston. "In terms of me being a leader in that environment and bringing everyone together, I failed," he told reporters early this preseason while detailing a difficult season that included the death of his grandfather. Irving's new crew will open against a Timberwolves squad that took a step back in 2018-19, following up its first playoff appearance in 14 years with a 36-win campaign. Star center Karl-Anthony Towns leads the way after averaging 24.4 points and a career-high 12.4 rebounds last season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (2018-19: 36-46): Minnesota struck out in its pursuit of any big name acquisitions this offseason, but it filled some holes around Towns with the additions of forwards Jordan Bell, Noah Vonleh and Jake Layman, and the big man in the middle is confident entering the season. "Everyone always sleeps on people in Minnesota because they don't hear our name a lot. That's fine. That's cool," Towns recently told The Undefeated. "We are going to come from the underground and just find ourselves in the playoffs if we continue to do what we"re doing." The Timberwolves also traded up to take Jarrett Culver out of Texas Tech and the rookie guard should help fill the void left behind by last season's Jimmy Butler fiasco.
ABOUT THE NETS (2018-19: 42-40): Irving has plenty of support in the backcourt with fellow guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert, who both averaged over 12 points a game, although the latter figures to get much of his time on the wing. Forward Taurean Prince was brought in from Atlanta after averaging 13.5 points a season ago and given a two-year extension worth $29 million this week. Center Jarrett Allen took a big step in his second season with averages of 10.9 points and 8.4 rebounds while shooting 59 percent from the floor - tied for seventh in the NBA.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Minnesota averaged 116 points in taking both meetings last season.
2. Nets SG Joe Harris led the NBA in 3-point percentage (47.4) in 2018-19 before making just 4-of-21 attempts in a first-round playoff series loss to Philadelphia.
3. Timberwolves SF Andrew Wiggins averaged 18.1 points last season while shooting a career-low 41.2 percent from the field.