The Toronto Raptors have been notoriously slow starters of late, frequently putting themselves behind the eight ball early by playing undisciplined and unfocused first-quarter basketball.
Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings, they came out looking locked in, making smart passes and moving fluidly on offense. Late in the first quarter, the Raptors ran one of their pet sets to perfection.
The play starts with Jonas Valanciunas setting a high screen for Kyle Lowry, with Amir Johnson on the right wing looking to curl around a Lou Williams off-ball screen.
As Valanciunas peels off, Johnson finishes his cut and flashes up around the left block. DeMar DeRozan is in the left corner (offscreen) being guarded closely by former teammate Rudy Gay, but the rest of the Kings' defense has already started to scramble.
As Johnson catches the pass from Lowry, DeRozan makes a move toward him, hinting at the dribble handoff the Raptors often run to get him free for a mid-range jumper.
Gay starts to cheat that way, hoping to snuff out the handoff or at least wedge himself between Johnson and DeRozan. But DeRozan catches him moving the wrong way, and burns him with a backdoor cut to the hoop.
With DeMarcus Cousins keeping an eye on Valanciunas on the right block, he can't bring help in time, and DeRozan finds himself with an easy path to a dunk.
Here's the play in its entirety:
