"Everyone can think back to the last game. The Timberwolves actually had two stretches where they went cold, but both were so short that nobody noticed."
"Against the Raptors' five-man defensive lineup, they went cold for two minutes between the fifth and seventh minutes of the second quarter. Then, in the fourth quarter, they went cold for another two minutes, in the third and fifth minutes."
"That adds up to four minutes where the Timberwolves went cold. Those four minutes let the Raptors extend their lead, and ultimately left the Timberwolves with no way to turn things around."
When Miller got to this point, Garnett remembered too. He nodded.
"I'd wondered why the Timberwolves hadn't played badly in the last game, yet the final margin was still pretty big. After hearing your analysis, I finally understand. This five-man defensive lineup really is that scary."
Reggie Miller continued:
"Take this game, for example. In the few minutes before that five-minute stretch, the five-man defensive lineup had already shown how intense its defense could be. But Juan really played well, and Carmen had a good game too, so they weren't trailing by much."
"But when the Raptors raised their defensive intensity again during those five minutes, neither Carmen nor Juan could adjust."
"They'd faced teams with intense defenses in the previous three rounds of the playoffs, even teams that committed all kinds of flagrant fouls. But those teams weren't cohesive on defense. Their intensity came from just one or two players, or maybe three."
"That gave Juan a weakness to exploit."
"But all five players on the Raptors' floor defend with tremendous intensity. Juan can't find an opening, and if he's even slightly off his game, the Timberwolves go cold immediately. Juan is the Timberwolves' lifeblood. When he goes cold, the whole