MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Russian-native Alexey Shved is becoming a crunch-time performer who can’t wait for a back court teammate to join him. He represents an interesting dynamic: young and unafraid to take shots – especially in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t know what happened, but here, when I got here, I play good – always play good in last, fourth quarter. I don’t know why this happened (laughs),” Shved said.

He’s learning the NBA, but more importantly, his team is starting to understand him. Head coach Rick Adelman is witnessing this first hand.

“We like to get the ball in his hands. He’s a little unorthodox because he loves to attack people, you know. And I think our guys are learning how to play with him,” Adelman said.

The short-term goal is to keep him confident with shooting the basketball, and be able to play him in the fourth quarter. The long-term goal is to have him in the back court with another player from overseas – Ricky Rubio.

The Spaniard practiced for the second time on Monday – a glimpse for Shved into the possible future.

“We play together, we play for the same team. And he’s a very smart player, and he knows when to shoot,” Shved said.

The Wolves are hoping that fourth quarters will become more consistent with this dynamic duo together.