Fresh off a win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Toronto Raptors will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, October 12, 7:30 pm at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, ON.
The Raptors will return from their road trip and play in their regular arena for the first time this preseason. The Raptors are coming into this game with two wins and a single loss, while the Timberwolves have played two games and lost both.
The Raptors will get a chance to face the Toronto hometown boy in Andrew Wiggins, the franchise player of the Timberwolves. They have also added hometown players to their roster with additions of Cory Joseph and Anthony Bennett. Expect Bennett to have a big game against the team that bought him out which allowed him to join the Raptors as a free agent.
Anthony Bennett was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2013 NBA draft and hasn’t lived up the expectations a first overall player would have. He has been struggling to translate his game to the NBA for whatever reason.
The Raptors have good incentive to bring in a really cheap contract with little risk in signing Bennett and hope to see the possible rewards. Despite being a hometown player, Bennett will have to fight for a spot just like the rest of his teammates and rightfully so.
The Raptors will see a familiar face, this time behind the opposing team’s bench in Sam Mitchell as the interim coach of the Timberwolves.
Toronto is a team with many high expectations after last year’s disastrous end to the season. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, are in a rebuild and look to continue the growth of their young players and make a stronger push than last year.
This will be Toronto's first chance to show off their new court design at home. The team underwent a huge change in redesigning their jerseys and logo for the new season.
A new face the Raptors will see is rookie Karl-Anthony Towns, the anticipated starter of the Timberwolves at center, selected first overall in the 2015 NBA draft. Towns had an excellent collegiate year with University of Kentucky, a team that saw many players leave and make the 2015 NBA draft.
Kyle Lowry is the current leader of the NBA in preseason for points per game, averaging 25.5, in front of last season’s MVP Stephen Curry. Jonas Valančiūnas leads the Raptors in preseason rebounds per game at 8.7, Lowry for assists per game at four, James Johnson with blocks per game at one, and Terrence Ross with steals per game at 1.7.
The projected starting lineup for the Raptors is: PG-Kyle Lowry, SG-DeMar DeRozan, SF-DeMarre Carroll, PF-Patrick Patterson, C- Jonas Valančiūnas.
The projected starting lineup for the Timberwolves is: PG-Lorenzo Brown, SG-Zach LaVine, SF-Andrew Wiggins, PF-Kevin Garnett, C-Karl-Anthony Towns.