The Charlotte Hornets play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Spectrum Center on Friday.

The Timberwolves (1-0) are a team in need of some positive developments and an overtime road victory in the opener is a great way to kick off their season. Getting that victory against an up-and-coming Brooklyn Nets team is even more encouraging, especially considering Kyrie Irving dropped a 50-burger in that game. Minnesota got a gem performance of their own, with Karl-Anthony Towns collected 36 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks in that 127-126 victory. They got that win despite Andrew Wiggins hitting just 10-of-27 from the field and that will inevitably get better too. These two need to get this team out of the dumps if they want to make some noise this season and they have the capability to do just that.

The Hornets (1-0) were expected to lead the league in losses this season but a win in the opener is an extremely encouraging sign. While it did come against the Bulls, that's expected to be a much-improved team. What Charlotte fans have to be ecstatic by is the play of their young players. P.J. Washington actually led the team with 27 points but he wasn't the only one with a career game. DeVonte' Graham led the bench with 23 points, four rebounds and eight assists while Dwayne Bacon amassed 22 points, five rebounds and three assists. Cody Zeller recorded a double-double as well and it's quite surprising to see role players like that succeed when most people anticipated Terry Rozier and Miles Bridges running the show. It says a lot about this team's depth and fans have to be hopeful this is a sign of things to come.

Despite splitting the last three season series, Charlotte has won seven of their last 10 games against Minnesota.