Gameday preview: Wolves at L.A. Lakers

9:30 P.M. at Los Angeles • Staples Center • fsn, espn; 830-AM

Preview: Only three days after losing their coach, Flip Saunders, to cancer, the Wolves will try to use his memory as motivation for their opener on the road. With PG Ricky Rubio finally back in the lineup, interim coach Sam Mitchell is set to go with a 10-deep rotation that includes veterans Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince in the starting lineup along with Andrew Wiggins at shooting guard, Rubio and rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns. Much will depend on the Wolves bench, with Kevin Martin and Shabazz Muhammad providing the scoring. This will be a showcase of the top two picks from the 2015 draft, Towns and Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell. The Lakers are a much different bunch than the team that ended last season. G Kobe Bryant and F Julius Randle are back from injury. The team signed C Roy Hibbert. But this is a team, like the Wolves, that will experience growing pains with its young players.

Players to watch: After missing much of the preseason because of a quadriceps injury, Rubio played in the final three, scoring 13 points with six assists and three steals in his last warmup game. Wiggins led the Wolves in preseason scoring (13.4). Towns is coming off an 18-point, 12-rebound effort in the preseason finale. Muhammad scored 19 points in each of the final two preseason games. Bryant averaged 13.0 points and shot 44.7 percent in very limited preseason action cut short by a lower leg contusion. Russell struggled with his shot (38.6 percent). Hibbert should improve the Lakers interior defense, a problem last season.

Numbers: The Lakers took three of four games from the Wolves last season. L.A. was 3-5 in the preseason, the Wolves 2-5. After opening at home for 13 straight seasons, the Wolves will open on the road for the second consecutive season. Minnesota is 2-7 all time opening on the road. Towns will become the seventh Wolves rookie to start on opening night; it will be Kevin Garnett's 12th opening night start in a Wolves uniform.

Injuries: Wolves C Nikola Pekovic (Achilles surgery) is out. Lakers G Kobe Bryant (leg) is listed as questionable, but should play. G Jordan Clarkson (right shoulder) is questionable.

Kent Youngblood