The Indiana Pacers travel to Minneapolis to play the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Monday.

The Pacers (2-1) have had a mixed bag thus far, as they've taken care of business against the Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets but lost to the Milwaukee Bucks on the road. That's pretty much what you'd expect from this team though, as they're a good bet to finish between fourth and eighth in the east. What is encouraging is the fact that no one on the roster is playing up to expectations. In fact, Victor Oladipo, Tyreke Evans, Myles Turner and Darren Collison have all seen a major dip in their numbers in the first three games. While that may be discouraging on the surface, it's actually a great sign that this club is due for some positive regression. It's the defense that has kept them above water, ranking fourth in the NBA in points allowed. If they can maintain that stingy defense while getting the offense back to where it should be, this Pacers team may have a shot at cracking the top-four in the Eastern Conference if things fall their way.

The Timberwolves (1-2) have had a gluttony of drama surrounding their team with the Jimmy Butler saga but have otherwise played competitive basketball in the opening week. In fact, all three games they've played have been decided by singe-digit margins, albeit two of them being losses. It's crystal clear what the issue is, considering Minnesota allowed 140 points to the Dallas Mavericks in their most recent loss. That's a Dallas team that finished bottom-three in nearly every offensive category last season and it's simply unacceptable to allow that many points to anyone, let alone a poor offense. That game was played without Jimmy Butler ironically and one has to wonder which side is right in this heated debate. It appears this saga may be affecting Karl-Anthony Towns as well, considering he's posting a meek average of 17 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this season. Those are good numbers from anyone else, but that's simply not the KAT that everyone has been accustomed with and his off-court talk may indicate that there's even more distress behind the scenes.

While these teams split their two-game season series last year, both games were decided by 17 points or more with the road team prevailing in each game.