The 14-Game stretch that will make or break the Timberwolves' season

There is already plenty to look forward to when it comes to the Minnesota Timberwolves' 2024-25 season schedule. Now that Minnesota has risen to the level of an undeniable top championship contender, the league and its media partners have slowly grown to accept the Timberwolves as a team that the national audience needs to be seeing on a weekly basis.

As such, Minnesota will have an incredible 18 national television games next season between ESPN, TNT and ABC. That number goes even higher if you count contests set to appear on NBA TV. Timberwolves fans can look forward to seeing their team featured in many big time matchups that will be seen by millions across the country and the world.

Looking harder at the Wolves' schedule and looking beyond just the broadcast information, there is a lot to like about the way their campaign is set up. As we already previously knew, Minnesota will begin the season in Los Angeles for an opening night contest with the Lakers. From there, they will travel to Sacramento before coming home to Target Center for their home opener on October 26.

Minnesota will face 10 playoff teams in 14 games

Further into the season, there is a stretch of games that is almost certain to make or break the Timberwolves' year. Beginning on February 10 and just before the All-Star break, Minnesota will travel to Cleveland to begin a stretch of nine games on the road over the course of 14 total contests.

Several of these games will be against high-caliber playoff competition. Notable games include matchups with the Cavaliers, Bucks, three(!) total matchups with the Thunder, Lakers, Suns, Sixers, and Nuggets. Minnesota will absolutely have to lock in during this critical stretch of the season.

In the extremely stacked Western Conference, a stretch of games like this could have huge implications. A team could theoretically begin this period as a top one or two seed in the conference, and reasonably be fifth or sixth in the standings by the end if they really struggle. As the Timberwolves pursue another top-three seed in the West, putting up a strong performance during this stretch will be of the utmost importance.