Terrence Ross will return from a thumb ligament injury to play against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, the team announced.
The fourth-year shooting guard injured the thumb in a workout last Monday and anticipated missing at least two weeks. Instead, he’s back in a week and change, having missed just six games.
His return will mean a decreased role off the bench for James Johnson and Norman Powell, who both played quite well in Ross’ stead. Head coach Dwane Casey sees Johnson as more of a match-up specialist and “break glass in case of emergency” starter, but Powell had been carving out occasional minutes. It could also mean fewer minutes for the highly effective Kyle Lowry-Cory Joseph pairing. Powell, who is back home in California, probably won’t see run while the game’s tight unless Ross plays poorly.
| First 7 Games | Last 6 Games | |
| Ross | 17.4 | 0.0 |
| Powell | 3.3 | 9.0 |
| Johnson | 9.8 | 19.2 |
| Joseph | 23.1 | 27.2 |
Ross playing poorly is within the realm of possibility.
Prior to hurting his thumb, Ross had turned in four obscenely bad games in a row. This, immediately following a three-year, $31-million contract extension being signed, required a shrug of the shoulders and additional, if undeserved patience. He was averaging 6.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 17.4 minutes over seven games before hitting the shelf, shooting 36.4 percent from the floor and 28 percent from long-range. The outside shooting mark can be expected to correct so long as the non-shooting thumb doesn’t bother him, as the majority of Ross’ misses have been open looks that he normally cans with regularity, the one area of his game that’s generally reliable.
In part because Ross’ injury coincided with missed time for DeMarre Carroll, the team struggled with floor spacing while he was out. For as inconsistent as Ross can be, shooting is one thing he does demonstrably well, and even just the threat of his shot from the corners helps the Raptors balance the floor.
The Raptors are 4.6 points per-100 possessions worse with Ross playing for the season, but his return should help Casey manage his rotations nonetheless, particularly when it comes to keeping the offense afloat when Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan hit the bench. Casey now also has options if Ross’ effort and defense wane, as they tend to. Powell’s energy and aggression make him a natural “teaching moment” substitute, and Johnson can come in and defend when a bigger linup is required.
There’s a good chance Raptors fans will respond to Ross’ return with sarcasm or jokes or eye-rolls. That’s fair, and they’ve earned it with three-plus years of fighting the urge to write off a prospect who keeps giving them reason to. Still, Ross is a better player than he showed before the injury, the franchise invested heavily in him a few weeks back, and the Raptors could really use his shooting off the bench. His return is welcome news.
The Lakers, by the way, are surrendering the seventh-highest number of 3-point attempts per-game, so Ross should find the space necessary to let fly and get his comfort level back.
