A preview of the Timberwolves basketball season

Wayne Ellington, Marreese Speights, Tony Allen
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Wayne Ellington (22) drives to the basket against Memphis Grizzlies defenders Marreese Speights (5) and Tony Allen, left, in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, in Memphis, Tenn.
Lance Murphey/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Minnesota Timberwolves play their first game of the new season Friday, Nov. 2 when they host the Sacramento Kings at Target Center.

Last season got off to promising start as rookie point guard Ricky Rubio brought new energy and leadership to the team. But after Rubio went down with a knee injury in March, the team fell apart.

This year, the Wolves begin the season without Rubio and also without their best player, all star forward Kevin Love. Love fractured two bones in his right hand doing knuckle pushups during the pre-season.

MPR's Cathy Wurzer gets a sneak peek at the Timberwolves season with our favorite basketball analyst Britt Robson who writes about the NBA for SportsIllustrated.com.

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