Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman probably has lost track of the number of adjustments he’s had to make because of the team’s injury problems this season.

One change Adelman will not make heading into the Wolves’ game at Philadelphia on Tuesday night, Dec. 4, is moving Alexey Shved into the starting lineup, even though the rookie shooting guard has scored more than half of his 156 points in the fourth quarter.

It seems that being in the starting five for the Wolves isn’t a big deal. Their thinking is that Shved is too valuable late in games to use him up in the opening minutes.

Shved, who has 84 fourth- quarter points, has emerged as the Wolves’ top offensive threat off the bench, and Adelman wants to develop him in that valuable role when the starters are struggling.

“He’s a guy we really rely on off the bench,” Adelman said after Monday’s practice. “He’s shown us what he can do in the fourth quarter. We like to have the ball in his hands, and his decision-making has been pretty good. He finds people.”

via Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press