Wolves rookie Culver finding consistency

With an established star and several young talents to build around, the Minnesota Timberwolves are attempting to establish themselves as a playoff contender once again.

From established players like Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins to newcomers like Josh Okogie and Jarrett Culver, we’re taking a weekly look at the present, and future, of the Wolves.

Each Thursday we’ll also track the progress of the Iowa Wolves standouts who might be of help to the Wolves in the future, or a current member of Minnesota’s roster.

This is the 10th edition of the 2019-20 Young Wolves Tracker.

Spotlight on …

Guard Jarrett Culver

The start to Culver’s NBA career was a bit of a roller coaster.

The sixth pick of the 2019 NBA draft scored no more than six points in his fist four games, then went off for 20 points on Nov. 2 and earned his first career start four days later.

Culver then went in a slump during the Timberwolves’ 11-game losing streak in December, averaging 6.0 points and shooting 12% from 3-point range. He saw his role on the team decrease.

But Culver broke out of the collapse with a 21-point performance in a win over Brooklyn on Dec. 30, and the rookie hasn’t looked back.

Culver has scored in double figures in nine straight games, averaging 15.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per contest in that span. He’s also shooting 31.7% from 3-point range, which isn’t great, but it’s an improvement on the 26.2% clip in 2019-20.

The rookie has also flashed some fire and personality on the court with his momentum-shifting dunks.

Jarrett Culver dunked.

Robin Lopez was not happy.

Oh my. pic.twitter.com/Bl75YW8dkP

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) January 2, 2020

WOLF TRACKS

— Wiggins has scored a combined 31 points over the last three games: 11 against Houston and 10 apiece in the games against Oklahoma City and Indiana. That hot stretch back in November when Wiggins put up 30+ points in four of five contests is now just a distant memory.

— Center Gorgui Dieng scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Indiana on Wednesday night for his sixth double-double of the season.

— Naz Reid, the subject of last week’s Young Wolves Tracker, set a new career best with 20 points against Oklahoma City. In the eight games that Reid has played 10+ minutes this season, he’s tallied 10+ points in six of them.