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One more look at 2016-17 Timberwolves schedule

By Ben Beecken

Apr 3, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) high fives center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) in the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center. The Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 88-78. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) high fives center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) in the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center. The Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 88-78. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Timberwolves 2016-17 schedule was released less than a week ago, and it included a much high number of nationally-televised dates than Wolves fans are used to seeing.

The Timberwolves released their preseason schedule early last week. Following closely behind was the NBA’s official schedule release on Thursday afternoon. We wrote about the Wolves’ slate of games here.

But let’s take another look at the schedule from a TV perspective.

The Wolves played in a single game televised by TNT a year ago, which was up by one from…pretty much every other year since 2004. There were a couple of ESPN games, most notably the season-opening overtime win over the Lakers at Staples Center just three days after Flip Saunders’ passing.

In 2016-17, that number jumps from three contests to 10. That’s right, Wolves fans — more than 10 percent of your squad’s games will be on national television. Having back-to-back Rookie of the Year award winners and hiring a top-four head coach will do that, huh? Then again, an overtime win over the defending champs and eventual 73-game winners in early April doesn’t hurt, either.

Here are the games that will be on either ESPN or TNT:

  • The Wolves will host the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, November 17th in their first non-NBATV nationally-televised game of the season. Of course, it’s bit odd to see a combined 39 wins from the season prior on TNT. The Sixers won just 10 games a year ago, but a Karl-Anthony Towns–Nerlens Noel showdown will be fun for everyone.
  • On Wednesday, November 23rd, the Wolves will head to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans on ESPN for an 8:30 Central Time start. Anthony Davis vs. Towns is the draw here, of course.
  • The Timberwolves will be back on TNT for an early 6:00 p.m. Central tip-off on Thursday, December 8th when they head north of the border to face the mighty Toronto Raptors.
  • Tom Thibodeau’s return to United Center will come on Tuesday, December 13th and will be televised on ESPN. I’m sure he’ll be excited to talk to the media prior to (and during) that one.
  • The Christmas Day appearance at Oklahoma City will be the prime time game at 7:00 Central Time.
  • The Timberwolves will play their third TNT game Thursday, January 19th against the Los Angeles Clippers at 9:30 p.m Central Time. The Wolves and Clippers always seem to play tight games on national TV, so this should be fun.
  • The Wolves head to Cleveland to face the defending champion Cavaliers on Wednesday, February 1st at 6:00 p.m. Central on ESPN.
  • The first nationally-televised Friday night game for the Wolves is a home game against Dallas on February 24th. That game is also televised on ESPN.
  • The last ESPN game of the year for Minnesota will be Tuesday, March 21st, at home against the San Antonio Spurs. The Wolves haven’t played Gregg Popovich’s bunch particularly well in the post-KG era, but who has?
  • TNT closes the Wolves’ national slate with a Thursday, April 6th game in Portland at 9:30 p.m. Central. There’s also a decent chance that the two teams could be locked in a playoff race at that time. This should be a great match-up.

So there you have it, Wolves fans. The most nationally-televised games since 2003-04, I’m sure. There were a couple of years in there where there was one, at most, game on ESPN and a long period of time with no presence on TNT.

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