The Week Ahead | Home Cookin'

Why you should attend: With no Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade, it was supposed to be a rebuilding season for Miami. And as of Feb. 4, Miami was 10 games below .500, but the Heat are just three games back from a playoff spot. The Wolves are 3.5 games back. For both clubs, every game is important. Plus, the Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Hassan Whiteside matchup should be fun. Towns was great in January, averaging 25.4 points, 12.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 15 games.

Opposing player I’ll be watching: During the summer of 2010, I lived in Mankato and didn’t have a job. I was still in school and just kind of lived off of my financial aid money for three months, something I 78 percent regret now. But every night, I would go over to my friend Jesse’s place and watch the playoffs. One player we fell in love with immediately was Goran Dragic. He was Steve Nash’s backup at the time and was only 23 years old. To the basketball world, he was kind of an unknown.

Look at that step-though move after a pump fake to start this clip! 

Dragic was our guy during that Suns and Spurs series. That’s when you knew, eventually, he’d be something special in this league. Dragic is now 30 and is averaging 19.9 points, 6.4 assists and a career-high four rebounds per game while shooting a scorching 42.5 percent from the 3-point line. Between Dragic and Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio, there should be plenty of highlights in this one.

Why you should attend: The last time the Wolves played the Raptors at the Target Center, they won 117-112 behind 35 points and 11 rebounds from Towns. The Raptors were the No. 2 seed in the East and were big favorites. Don’t think the Raptors, who are 30-21 this season, forgot about that. They’ll be looking for revenge.

Opposing player I’ll be watching: Today’s NBA revolves around layups and 3-pointers. Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan is averaging 27.8 points per game. Most have to be coming from the 3-point line and at the rim, right? Nah. DeRozan is making just 0.4 3-pointers at 25 percent. However, he is shooting 69.9 percent inside three feet, 47.3 percent from three to 10 feet and 47.7 percent from 10 to 16 feet. He’s shooting 47 percent from the field, the highest mark of his career since 2009-10, when he was a rookie.

DeRozan is zagging when everyone else is zigging.

Why you should attend: At the time I’m writing this, the Pelicans and Wolves are tied for 11th in the West, 3.5 games back from the eighth seed in the West. The Pelicans won the first matchup this season between the two teams, and maybe it’s too early to talk about tie breakers, but hey, you’d rather have the tie breaker than not.

Also, it’s Crunch’s birthday. There will be plenty of mascots in attendance. Luckily, the first version of Pierre the Pelican will not be there.

Opposing player I’ll be watching: The matchup between Towns and Anthony Davis will be a good one. The two former Wildcats (again, how doesn’t Kentucky win the title every season?), are two of the best big men in the league.

In his fifth season, Davis is averaging career highs of 27.9 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists. If the Pellies had a better record, chances are we’d be talking about Davis for MVP.

Why you should attend: You might recall that Tom Thibodeau coached the Bulls from 2010-2015 and made the postseason in all five seasons with the club. In his first game against the Bulls in Chicago, the Wolves won 99-94. The Wolves have the chance to earn the season sweep against his old club in this afternoon game. Plus, it’s a good chance to see first-hand how the Wade, Rajon Rondo and Jimmy Butler experiment is going.

Opposing player I’ll be watching: Rondo isn’t the player he used to be. But don’t forget that he led the NBA with 11.7 assists per game last season with the Kings. The four-time All-Star is playing in just 26.8 minutes per game, his lowest since his rookie season in 2006-07. 

Rondo does have five double-double this season and one triple-double this season, though. On Jan. 27, he finished with 13 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and three steals proving he can still be dangerous.

I’m not sure what’s going on in Chicago, but the Bulls are 25-26 at the time I’m writing this, seventh in the East. Let’s not forget this is still a playoff team.