Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves 10/19/22 - NBA Picks & Predictions

The Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Wednesday to play the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening game of the NBA regular season for both teams. Oklahoma City finished next to last in the Western Conference last season at 24-58. The Thunder were 12-29 at home and on the road. Oklahoma's record last season was its worst since its first season in 2008-09.

The top two returning players from last season are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddy. The big change for Oklahoma City was expected to be Chet Holmgren as the No. 2 overall pick, but Holmgrem suffered a season-ending injury to his right foot in a game during the offseason. Gilgeous-Alexander is questionable but expect to see Giddy, Darius Bazley, Aleksej Pokusevski, Theo Maledon and Luguentz Dort see plenty of playing time.

Minnesota finished seventh in the Western Conference last season at 46-36. The Timberwolves were 26-15 at home and 20-21 on the road. Minnesota played well against Memphis in the first round of the postseason last year but was eliminated in six games. The Timberwolves were led last season by Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell, who are all back for Minnesota and are joined by offseason acquisition Rudy Gobert, who is one of the NBA's best defensive players and rebounders.

Gobert is expected to play well alongside Towns and Minnesota is likely to battle for the title in the Northwest division with Denver. Gobert is an excellent passer and will find shooters such as Edwards and Russell and will open lanes for Towns and others. Minnesota’s depth after the top four includes Malik Beasley, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, who had a very strong preseason.