Minnesota Timberwolves at Guangzhou Loong-Lions
Date: October 13th, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM CDT
Location: Target Center
Television Coverage: NBA League Pass
Radio Coverage: KFAN FM, Wolves App, iHeart Radio<\/p>\n
After back-to-back overtime losses, the 1-2 Timberwolves get a chance to \u201cright the ship\u201d Monday night when the Guangzhou Loong-Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association make their third and final stop on their U.S. tour. So far for thee Lions, it\u2019s trip that\u2019s gone about as well as a \u201cShark Tank\u201d pitch for Fyre Festival 2.0.<\/p>\n
The Lions have been torched on this trip. The Spurs ran them out of the gym. The Clippers toyed with them. And now, they face a Timberwolves squad that could use a confidence boost and a reminder that basketball can still be fun. This isn\u2019t just a game. It\u2019s a palate cleanser. A live-action scrimmage dressed up as an international exhibition.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s not kid ourselves. The Wolves should win this game by double digits before the first quarter ends. The Loong-Lions have played five games against NBA competition and lost all five \u2014 none by fewer than 29 points. Their defensive schemes make the All-Star Game look like 2004 Pistons basketball.<\/p>\n
So, yeah, the Wolves will probably score 130. The real question is who gets the highlight reel treatment. Maybe Terrence Shannon Jr. drops 50. Maybe Naz Reid throws down a dunk so vicious that the Target Center crowd forgets it\u2019s October.<\/p>\n
But this isn\u2019t about the scoreboard. This is about reps, rhythm, and roster clarity.<\/p>\n
The biggest storyline of the night isn\u2019t Anthony Edwards or Julius Randle. It\u2019s Rob Dillingham.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t trade up for the No. 8 pick, position him as Mike Conley Jr.\u2019s heir apparent, and then let him fade into preseason anonymity. After an up-and-down rookie year and a summer league that could charitably be described as \u201ceducational,\u201d the fanbase is antsy. Dillingham has to show something \u2014 poise, pace, a glimmer of control.<\/p>\n
If he can\u2019t shine against a CBA team, that\u2019s a red flag the size of the Target Center scoreboard.<\/p>\n
And let\u2019s be honest, the Wolves\u2019 backup point guard situation is about as stable as a Jenga tower in an earthquake. Bones Hyland has been fun in spurts, but those spurts have mostly come against guys who\u2019ll be suiting up for the G League by Thanksgiving. The Wolves need a second guard who can organize, defend, and not immediately turn into a pumpkin when Conley sits.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not a small ask. But hey, that\u2019s what games like this are for.<\/p>\n
This also has \u201cTerrence Shannon Jr. breakout\u201d written all over it. He\u2019s the kind of high-motor wing who thrives in these track-meet exhibitions. The Lions couldn\u2019t stop a pick-and-roll with duct tape, so if Finch decides to limit minutes for the stars, Shannon could be the one putting up All-Star numbers.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s always that one preseason game where a role player explodes and everyone pretends we\u2019ve just witnessed a future starter being born. Maybe this is that night.<\/p>\n
From the NBA\u2019s perspective, this is part goodwill tour, part brand expansion. Anthony Edwards already has a budding fanbase in China, and this game just amplifies it. The league loves this stuff. \u201cBasketball without borders,\u201d \u201cglobal game,\u201d \u201cexpanding markets,\u201d you name it.<\/p>\n
And honestly? It\u2019s fine. It\u2019s preseason. The Wolves could use a low-stakes night to get their mojo back and remind everyone that they\u2019re more than just a \u201cWestern Conference Finals hangover\u201d team.<\/p>\n
Just don\u2019t lose. Seriously. Do not lose this game. You can shrug off back-to-back overtime losses to Eastern Conference Finalists, but if the Timberwolves become the first NBA team to lose to the Loong-Lions? Every bar in Minneapolis is going to sound like a funeral for optimism.<\/p>\n
Expect a few fireworks, a lot of running, and plenty of highlight fodder for the Wolves\u2019 social team. This game won\u2019t tell us much about the upcoming season, but it might just calm some nerves, and maybe give us a glimpse at whether Dillingham is ready to take that next step.<\/p>\n
This one\u2019s not about standings. It\u2019s about vibes, auditions, and maybe a few poster dunks. Think of it as basketball comfort food \u2014 no pressure, just entertainment. Enjoy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minnesota Timberwolves at Guangzhou Loong-LionsDate: October 13th, 2025Time: 7:00 PM CDTLocation: Target CenterTelevision Coverage: NBA League PassRadio Coverage:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337163,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3782],"tags":[7,307,152,3954,6,308,1369],"class_list":{"0":"post-337162","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-timberwolves","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-minnesota","10":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","11":"tag-minnesotatimberwolves","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-timberwolves","14":"tag-timberwolves-game-previews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115362433857757038","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}