Counting his two earlier shots, he had now taken three shots in a row over Ryan's head—and made all three.
The Timberwolves' head coach furrowed his brow slightly.
He immediately called over their Small Forward, Tim Pick, and whispered a few words in his ear.
Tim Pick nodded.
The Timberwolves had the ball. This time, the Raptors switched things up and had Big Lock Rock guard Juan.
Rock was ten centimeters shorter than Juan.
But he was much stronger physically.
When guarding Juan, he played in front of him.
He kept jostling Juan, stopping him from getting into position.
Juan couldn't get the ball.
In the end, the Timberwolves changed their approach, letting their Point Guard, Carmen, handle the ball.
Juan went up to set a screen for Carmen, and the two ran a Pick and Roll.
The Raptors' defensive strategy was to have Big Lock Rock follow Juan up the court.
When Juan screened Carmen and opened up a path, Tagore, who was guarding Carmen, squeezed past him and continued to guard Carmen.
In short, Rock stuck close to Juan and refused to let him get the ball.
As Tagore squeezed past to follow Carmen, Carmen had already reached the free-throw line.
He abruptly stopped and prepared to shoot.
Tagore was also a very experienced defender. He had clearly lost his position, but when he got to Carmen's side, he jostled him with his body.
And he applied just the right amount of force—not too much, not too little.
Any less, and he wouldn't have affected Carmen's shot. Any more, and he might have been called for a Defensive Foul.
With the league having loosened its standards for defensive calls this year, Tagore applied enough force to affect Carmen's shot without drawing a Defensive Foul. In the end, Carmen