Timberwolves get 4 national TV games in next month
The first-place Minnesota Timberwolves have been dismantling top-tier foes like its their job (it is) all season long, but despite their dominance on defense and flashy skill on offense they've been promoted via a national television audience just twice.
Minnesota's blowout of the Memphis Grizzlies was on TNT on Jan. 18. The only other game on national TV was Minnesota's win over the Spurs at Target Center on Dec. 6, which was broadcast by ESPN.
Now that 65% of the regular season is done, the Timberwolves (37-16) will finally get their due and be showcased to national television audiences four times in their next 12 games.
- Friday, Feb. 23: Wolves vs. Bucks, 9 p.m. on ESPN
- Wednesday, Feb. 28: Wolves vs. Grizzlies, 6:30 p.m. on ESPN
- Sunday, March 10: Wolves at Lakers, 8:30 p.m. on ESPN
- Tuesday, March 12: Wolves at Clippers, 9 p.m. on TNT
The only other game the rest of the regular season slated for national TV is Minnesota's April matchup with the Denver Nuggets, which is a 9 p.m. start on ESPN.
The Timberwolves were originally only scheduled to have five games televised by ESPN or TNT, so the fact that they'll end with at least seven is a very slight recognition by the NBA's TV partners for Minnesota's steady performance as a Western Conference leader.
By the way, the San Antonio Spurs have been on TNT or ESPN 10 times this season.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.