3 things the Minnesota Timberwolves need to do when the NBA returns

#2 – Continue to empower Jarrett Culver as an off-ball guard on offense

There is no doubt that Jarrett Culver has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Timberwolves’ eventful deadline.

Culver has seen a massive shooting efficiency improvement thanks to a variety of factors, but his newfound confidence is chief among them.

Two key catalysts for his offensive rejuvenation has been the emergence of McLaughlin as the team’s primary backup lead guard – which has allowed Culver to play his more natural off-ball guard/wing position – and the installation of a dynamic guard who attracts multiple defenders in D’Angelo Russell.

In the 49 games before the trade deadline, Culver’s shooting was atrocious, no matter how you slice it, but has made drastic improvement in the 14 games since.

Pre-Deadline (49 games)

• 9.1 PTS on 38.6/27.2/45.3 shooting*, 3.4 REB, 1.9 AST, 1.3 TOV, 1.7 stocks in 24.6 MPG.
  • * FG / 3PT / FT  shooting percentage splits on 9.4 FGA, 3.7 3PA, 1.9 FTA per game.

Post-Deadline (14 games)

• 9.3 PTS on 47.0/38.6/48.0 shooting*, 2.9 REB, 1.3 AST, 1.1 TOV, 1.0 stocks in 21.9 MPG.
  • * FG / 3PT / FT  shooting percentage splits on 7.8 FGA, 2.9 3PA, 1.7 FTA per game.

Unfortunately, Culver’s free-throw woes have followed him post-deadline. He shot just 45.3 percent from the free throw line on 95 attempts before the deadline, and after it has shot just 48.0 percent on 25 attempts.

Jarrett’s shooting turn around may come as a surprise to most, but I am not surprised that he has been able to turn it around in recent weeks. While I was not expecting him to shoot nearly 39 percent from deep, it is obvious that Culver looks more comfortable playing without the ball. The added spacing resulting from the acquisition of 3-point shooters has definitely made a positive impact on his shooting.

Early on in the year, Culver struggled to successfully hunt space to get shot ready, which often resulted in a poor shooting base and, in turn, Jarrett pushing the ball rather than shooting it.

In this play, Teague pounds the air out of the ball and then throws a pulled-pin grenade to Culver near the end of the shot clock. Instead of filling open space that would give him a more space to get off a clean release and allow him to get his feet set correctly, JC remains stationary.

His shooting base looks awkwardly wide and the result is a brick.

While Culver can adeptly determine what move to make going to the basket, depending on who is guarding him, he struggles with pass-and-cut reads.

In this play, he correctly realizes he has no chance going up against Rudy Gobert. He has three possible reads here after deciding not to shoot.

First, he can attempt a pocket pass to Gorgui in between Gobert and O’Neal, which would be a really tough ask in such a small window. Second, with Gobert playing up so high up near the block,  JC could make wrap-around pass to Gorgui underneath the rim for either an easy two or a kick-out for an open three for either Martin or Covington. Instead, Culver elects to make the third possible read: to pass-back and relocate.

However, Culver takes his time getting to the corner; as a result, he is out of rhythm and hesitates before coming up short on a 3-point attempt.

Jarrett could do himself a lot of good by studying how to attack space and relocate after passing the ball. My personal favorite player to watch hunt space is J.J. Redick.

Sure, he is one of the greatest shooters to ever pick up a basketball, but that does not mean that Culver cannot learn from him.

The best thing about Redick is that he always moves with pace without the ball, stays shot ready, and approaches his shots with the same movements.

In a similar play to the one above, Redick stops in the mid-post and passes out of it. Unlike Culver, Redick immediately sees space (by coming around Hayes in a handoff action) and quickly moves to it, gets square, and drains a three. Elite stuff.

I want to preface this play by saying I do not expect Culver to ever make a play like this in his entire career. But, it goes to show how always sticking with a play can give you a huge advantage over those who do not.

Luckily for Wolves fans, Culver is a guy who rarely gives up on a play. Need a stat to prove it? Per Cleaning the Glass, JC rebounds 4.4 percent of Minnesota’s missed shots while he’s on the floor, good for 94th percentile among shooting guards league-wide.

Here, J.J. sticks with the play after he misses, finds open space and quickly realizes he is about to take a bad shot, passes out of it, and then sprints to the corner for a wide open look. Bang.

Although Culver’s shooting does not look promising in the clips I showed above, he has made significant improvements to his jumper as the season has progressed.

It is evident that the Minnesota development staff has both been watching film extensively with Jarrett and working with him on the cadence of stepping into his shots. Making easy step-in shots off of DHOs like these is a great way to build a guy’s confidence.

Something you’ll notice about Culver if you watch him shoot enough times is that he is much more comfortable shooting it when he steps with his left foot first, whether it be on a little step-back in the DHO shot, or launching a 3-pointer out of isolation.

Although it looks fairly straight-forward and unimpressive to a casual fan, plays like this from the former Big 12 Player of the Year give me hope that Culver can still become a good shooter at the NBA level.

Instead of attacking Melli off the bounce for what would likely be a layup, Culver trusts the work he has put in by executing an in-and-out dribble that allows him to step into the shot with his left foot and let it fly with a very solid shot base. Better yet, you can tell Jarrett knows the shot is money before it goes in and starts backpedaling down the court, which is a sign of growing confidence.

Culver’s spot-up game has come a long way from the first clip above, when Culver was not shot-ready whatsoever playing off-ball.

Here, he successfully finds the open spot on the floor after passing (sign of improvement from the second clip). Notice how he stays in an athletic position, ready to shoot. As he catches it, he plants his left foot in an ever-so-slight step and his release speeds up as a result of the smaller step. It is the best catch-and-shoot clip Culver has produced all year, and it is not close.

To put the icing on the cake, here’s Culver draining a nice fadeaway thanks to very smooth, under-control body motion and footwork.

This is the perfect play to end with for a few reasons.

First, and most importantly, non-confident shooters do not take step-back threes, whether it is garbage time or a close game in the first half.

Next, the spacing of the Wolves’ post-trade offense is leaps and bounds better than it was pre-trade. Having a guy like Naz Reid in the game, who can shoot the three and roll to the rim, forces Boban to switch onto Culver and ultimately enables him to take the step-back three. Add in dynamic lead guards in D-Lo and J-Mac, increased shooting on the wing with Beasley, Hernangomez, Johnson and Martin, and you have yourself the sustainable spacing necessary to help aid Culver’s growth.

And last, this angle shows that there is still a hitch in JC’s jumper. While it is less pronounced than it was when he first arrived in the Twin Cities, he still has to eliminate that during the offseason (fingers crossed team facilities open up in the next couple months) if he wants to be able to shoot north of 35 percent from deep on a consistent basis moving forward.