Thunder Gameday: 2022-23 Season Opener in Minnesota

Oklahoma City kicks off its season tonight on the road against the Timberwolves.

The regular season is finally here, as teams across the NBA play their opening games this week. For the Oklahoma City Thunder, the first team on the 2022-23 slate is the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Hitting the road, Oklahoma City will be the first team to match up with the new-look Timberwolves that have high expectations.

Can the Thunder spoil Minnesota’s start to the season, or will their lack of size be detrimental?

ODDS: 

The Thunder enter the day as 10.5-point underdogs to the Timberwolves, and the total over/under is 227 points.

KEYS TO THE GAME: 

For the third-straight season, the Thunder aren’t projected to be very good. In fact, it should be expected that they are a bottom five team in the Western Conference.

On the flip side, Minnesota made a handful of key moves this summer to bolster the roster, most notably with 7-footer Rudy Gobert. As such, the Wolves will roll out two star centers in the starting lineup.

This is not ideal for the Thunder, who don’t really have an experienced traditional center on the roster. Mike Muscala, Darius Bazley, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Jaylin Williams will be shouldering most of the minutes at that position this season.

Both teams appear to be fully healthy, outside of Oklahoma City being without Chet Holmgren who is out for the season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed the entire preseason with a knee injury, but he’s back in the lineup with no restrictions tonight in the opener.

Rebounding and the paint battle will be the key in this one, as the undersized Oklahoma City roster takes on a jumbo Minnesota roster.

RECORDS: 

Oklahoma City Thunder (0-0) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (0-0)

WHEN: 

Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022 at 7:00 PM CT

LOCATION: 

Target Center - Minneapolis, MN

TV/RADIO: 

Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal

FINAL WORD: 

Following this matchup, the Thunder will head to Denver for another road game against the Nuggets on Saturday. After that, the home opener will take place in Oklahoma City on Sunday, as the team hosts the Timberwolves this time around.

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