Minnesota Timberwolves: Jarrett Culver is coming along on both sides of the ball

Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Jarrett Culver has struggled at times this season but has started to find a groove in the last handful of games.

The Minnesota Timberwolves moved up in the draft to select Jarrett Culver at the No. 6 spot. The rookie from Texas Tech has had a lot of up-and-downs this season, but has started to string consistent performances together over the last handful of games.

Coming into the league, the Wolves believed they were getting a potential two-way star. Thus far, he’s shown more promise on the defensive end with more ups and downs on offense. Culver has been most effective with the ball in his hand, which has its benefits and negatives.

Obviously, it’s good to see him excel with the ball, but when he’s not controlling the offense, it can be hard to watch him play at times due to his complete lack of a shooting stroke.

In his freshman year at Texas Tech, Culver shot 38.2 percent from 3-point range, but he saw a significant drop to 30.4 percent in his sophomore season.

In his first season in the NBA, his shooting splits aren’t good. He’s shooting 36.6 percent from the field, 24 percent from three and an unsightly 40.9 from the charity stripe. His shot motion is herky-jerky at best and simply isn’t conducive to making shots on a regular basis in the NBA.

However, he has done a good job getting to the rim and has scored the bulk of his points there. Culver has shown a lot of flashes finishing at the rim with an increase in explosion.

The dunk over Robin Lopez was easily the highlight of his season thus far, but these poster dunks have become a near-regular occurrence.

Culver is shooting 56.9 percent at the rim but around 20 percent everywhere else on the floor. The only other area of the floor he shoots at an efficient level is from 10-to-16 feet, where he’s made five of just nine shot attempts.

Due to the high numbers of injuries for the Wolves, Culver is averaging 13.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.3 steals and a block per game with increased opportunity.

Culver opened this four-game spurt with a career-high 21 points in the overtime win against the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 30. Despite that being his highest point total, the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 5, was arguably his best game this season.

Culver finished with 14 points, four steals, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks. His defense was excellent and helped create more opportunities to score.

The play below is a perfect example of him sniffing out a steal and having the vision to find Shabazz Napier for the easy basket.

In the last four games, his offensive rating is 109.3 per 100 possessions and an impressive 94.3 defensive rating. Culver has played a role in the Timberwolves having the best defensive rating in their last 10 games.

Culver has started to consistently show us why Minnesota fell in love with his game enough to move up and select him at No. 6 in the NBA Draft. He still has a long way to with shooting the ball efficiently, but he’s been good defensively and has done well finishing at the rim.

If Culver can continue to do this, there’s no reason to believe that he isn’t a potential two-way star.