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Minnesota Timberwolves: Top 5 national TV games for the 2018-19 season

By Andrew Neururer

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 11: Jimmy Butler #23 and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 11: Jimmy Butler #23 and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Al Horford of the Boston Celtics guards Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

5. Timberwolves at Boston Celtics

Wed, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. CT

Channel: ESPN

The Timberwolves will be playing the Boston Celtics on Jan. 2 on ESPN at 7 p.m. CT.

This game is big for the Wolves because they are potentially playing the best team in the Eastern Conference. Now that LeBron James is out of the East, the path for the Celtics to dominate is much clearer.

Last season, the Celtics were the top team in the East before the injuries started to catch-up with them. That allowed the Toronto Raptors to make a late season push and finish on top by the end of the regular season.

Now, Boston will have a healthy Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving. Mix in another year of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and this looks like a NBA Finals contender.

Minnesota playing against the Celtics will be the ultimate test as to whether or not they are the real deal. Granted it’s still fairly early in the season, but playing against one of the top NBA teams is always good to see where a certain team is progressing, and there will be something symbolic about this game being played the day after the start of the new year.

Minnesota didn’t have good luck against the Celtics last season, losing both contests. The Celtics’ defense was simply too much for the Wolves to overcome; Minnesota scored only 84 points in their first meeting.

This season, the Celtics defense should be just as good if not better. That means that Minnesota must find ways to overcome those struggles.