Minnesota Timberwolves schedule 2013: Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio are ready to roll

Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio have unfinished business. In fact, it could be argued their business hasn't even started. Rick Adelman's Minnesota Timberwolves have the talent, but haven't had cohesion with so many injuries hitting so many key pieces of the roster. Aside from a knee injury to swingman Chase Budinger entering the 2013-14 season, Minnesota finally appears ready to roll.

Nov. 1 vs. Thunder -- T-Wolves guard Kevin Martin joined the Thunder prior to last season as the biggest piece to the James Harden trade. But after replacing Harden as the third scorer off the bench behind Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Martin left as a free agent to rejoin Minnesota coach Rick Adelman. Oklahoma City hasn't quite replaced Martin's scoring prowess and the Thunder will find out quickly how much they miss him against a hungry Timberwolves team.

Nov. 15 at Denver -- Two of the more exciting lower-tier playoff contenders in the Western Conference could put on quite a show with two contrasting styles. The Nuggets will be feeling out first-year coach Brian Shaw early in the year as Minnesota works again under Adelman. A Minnesota victory in November could be important if the two squads are fighting it out for final playoff spots at the end of the year.

March 28 vs. Lakers -- No, it's not a Minneapolis Lakers thing. The Lakers and Timberwolves could very well be fighting for playoff seeding or playoff participation this late in the regular season. The matchups between Pau Gasol and Kevin Love, and Steve Nash and Ricky Rubio are enticing -- that is, only if Los Angeles' age doesn't catch up to it.

Minnesota's schedule includes a brutal nine-game stretch early in the season. Beginning Nov. 20, the T-Wolves consecutively play the Clippers, Nets, Rockets, Pacers, Nuggets, Mavs, Thunder, Spurs and Heat. All but the Mavericks and Nuggets could call themselves candidates to find themselves in the 2014 NBA Finals.