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Following a tumultuous preseason, the Minnesota Timberwolves–and yes, that still includes Jimmy Butler–open their 2018-19 regular season with a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center on Wednesday night.
The game is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Fox Sports North (in Timberwolves markets) and KENS-5 CBS (in Spurs markets). If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can still watch a live stream of the game (or DVR it) on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
How to Watch Timberwolves vs Spurs Online if You’re in Market
Fox Sports North (local markets) and KENS-5 CBS (local markets) are included in the main Fubo bundle, which has 85 total channels and is tailored towards sports. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch games up to three days after they air even if you forgot to record them.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including Fox Sports North (local markets) and KENS-5 CBS (local markets). You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
This is for those who live in the Spurs area, where the game is on CBS. If you have Amazon Prime or start a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, you can watch all CBS content (both live and on-demand) via the CBS Amazon Channel, which also comes with a 7-day free trial.
Once you’re signed up for both Amazon Prime and the CBS channel, you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Amazon website, or you can watch on your tablet or streaming device via the Amazon Video app.
Fox Sports North (local markets) is included in the “Sling Blue” channel package, but KENS-5 CBS is not. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch the game live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
How to Watch Timberwolves vs Spurs Online if You’re Out of Market
If you live outside of the Timberwolves or Spurs area, all out-of-market, non-nationally televised games can be watched through NBA League Pass. You can sign up and watch through a number of different platforms:
You can sign up for either NBA League Pass, which lets you watch all out-of-market games, or NBA Team Pass, which lets you watch all of one team’s games if they’re out of market. Once signed up, you’ll be able to watch games on your computer via the NBA.com website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the NBA app.
If you have FuboTV or sign up for a new subscription, you can add NBA League Pass to your channel bundle. After signing up, you’ll be able to watch games on your computer via the Fubo website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Fubo app.
If you have Sling TV or sign up for a new subsription, you can add NBA League Pass or NBA Team Pass to your channel bundle. Once signed up, you’ll be able to watch games on your computer via the Sling website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling app.
Preview
The T-Wolves have dominated headlines over the last month–and not for good reasons. From Jimmy Butler requesting a trade, to the ‘Wolves “trying” to grant that wish but ultimately failing, to Butler reportedly embarrassing his fellow starters during practice, the Timberwolves have been the NBA’s version of a soap opera during the preseason.
Butler will suit up for the opener, though head coach Tom Thibodeau may choose to limit his minutes:
Thibs says Jimmy Butler will probably play in shorter segments tonight with no preseason play under his belt.
Of course, Thibodeau playing one of his starters in “shorter segments” probably means, like, 38 minutes instead of 42, but it’ll still be interesting to see what kind of role Butler plays after missing the entirety of the preseason while rehabbing after a wrist procedure.
As for the rest of the ‘Wolves, they didn’t look great sans Butler in the preseason. They went just 1-4, finishing 22nd in offensive rating (99.3 points per 100 possessions) and dead last defensively (112.8 points allowed per 100 possessions).
There are questions about whether or not they’re ready for the start of the season, but the players aren’t too concerned.
“Don’t matter how we feel. We gotta get it done, because it’s here,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “We can’t worry about all that stuff. We’re playing well in practice. The hope is that the product transfers over into the game. If we can do that, we’ll be just fine.”
On the other side of the court, DeMar DeRozan will make his regular-season Spurs debut following the Kawhi Leonard trade in the Summer. He also wasn’t exactly sharp during the preseason, averaging 14.0 points on 43.1 percent shooting in 26.2 minutes per contest, but he should be ready to go now that the games count.
The Spurs have a pair of All-Stars in DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, and they have a coach in Gregg Popovich who has churned out a ridiculous 21 playoff appearances in 21 full seasons, but there are some concerns.
Point-guard play, for one. With rising star Dejounte Murray sidelined with an ACL tear, and Derrick White and Lonnie Walker both out at least a couple weeks, their depth in the backcourt heading into the opener is seriously lacking. Patty Mills and Bryn Forbes are really the only options left at the 1.
There’s also some questions about the defense. The Spurs were fourth in the NBA last year in defensive rating, but they lost the length and athleticism of Murray and Danny Green, they brought in DeRozan, a historically shaky defender, and they’ll have a definite lack of size at point with Mills and Forbes. Their ability–or lack thereof–to slow down Jeff Teague, Butler and Andrew Wiggins will be a major key to this game.
Ultimately, it’s two teams that both have playoff aspirations but also major question marks. That should make for an entertaining opener.