Preseason Terrence Ross revived many Raptors fans’ faith in Terrence Ross. The energy many had spent trying to figure out the perfect trade to send him away was instead being displayed by the enigmatic wing on the basketball court, active defensively and offensively, generating steals, creating offense for himself and teammates off the dribble, and scoring with the ease his skills should deliver on a nightly basis. It looked like there was a chance the player we all wanted him to be had finally arrived, before a 360 dunk attempt during an open practice derailed his progress and removed him from three of the final four preseason games.
When Ross finally returned to the court, it seemed like some of the spark was gone. So far during the regular season, we’ve seen two solid Ross games, against Detroit and Denver, and one shaky game against Cleveland. But even in the good games, when he’s been active and engaged and working hard on both ends of the floor, his scoring touch has been missing so far. The things Ross isn’t usually expected to do, grabbing rebounds, distributing the ball, creating havoc in the passing lanes, those are the things he’s bringing to the table this season, and they’re all welcome additions, but with a player who’s known for his scoring you expect that part of his game as well, and the Raptors will probably need it at some point as well.
In years previous, while Ross’ defense was suspect and you generally would hold your breath any time he handled the ball, at the very least you knew what you were getting offensively. A strong shooter who could be depended on to hit his opportunities when he caught the ball in space. Last season Ross ranked as one of the best shooters in the league on these opportunities, taking 3.9 catch and shoot three point attempts per contest, and 4.5 catch and shoot field goal attempts overall per night, and knocking them down at a 41.1% clip from 3 and a 58.3% effective field goal percentage. With the Raptors’ primary offense coming off the dribble from DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, having shooters around them who can be depended on when the defense collapses is critical to running a successful offense.
This season, through the first three games, Ross has taken just four catch and shoot attempts, and that has to be thought of as part of his missing offense. While DeRozan is currently lighting the world on fire in impressive fashion, it has to be assumed that at some point this season, he’s going to have an off night, a night where either the defense is effectively taking away his spots and preventing him from scoring at will, or the shots simply aren’t dropping. When that happens, Toronto will have to find ways to generate offense for other guys on the roster, and Ross is an easy candidate. Coming off screens a season ago, he generated 1.02 points per possession on 2.3 possessions per game, and in 3.3 possessions per game where he was used as a spot-up shooter, he generated 1.13 points per possession. These are easy ways to find good shots to create quick offense for the team.
While the new toys in Ross’ arsenal are fun to see and likely equally fun to utilize for the team, having him use his quickness to drive the lane off the dribble and create easy dump-off opportunities for big men as the defense collapses on Terry, the team has to also remember to use his bread and butter, especially when the other shooters on the team aren’t hitting their shots when catching in space. DeMarre Carroll and Patrick Patterson have been struggling mightily to hit shots in space so far in this young season, and while the Raptors haven’t been, in their current iteration, a great three point shooting team, it’s very hard to win in this league without eventually hitting a couple from deep. A season ago, when Ross was finding his range and knocking down shots, that was when we saw the more engaged player on the defensive end, and if having his offense flowing can yet again increase his effectiveness there, maybe we can continue to find new levels for a player who looks like he’ll be a key part of the team’s rotation this season, having leapfrogged Norman Powell and taken the lion’s share of the reserve minutes off the wing.
So keep the active Ross, the passing and rebounding Ross, the Ross generating steals an impressive 3.7 steals per 36 minutes and creating easy baskets off the dribble while also getting to the free throw line. These new parts of his game are fun to watch, and certainly add to what he brings to the team when he comes off the bench. But bring back the catch and shoot Terrence who earned that extension a year ago and helped the Raptors bench lineups stay above water offensively while dominating defensively, to pull the team back in games when the starting lineup struggled. Because while the starters are winning games through offensive dominance right now, there will be bumps in this 82-game schedule, and when they come the more ready solutions the Raptors have on hand the more likely they are to keep things moving and win games that perhaps on the surface they shouldn’t, while also putting away opponents early when things do work, and earn some much needed rest during the season for Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Because if Ross can’t find a way to be both players, the active defender and willing distributor of this season as well as the knock-down shooter of a season ago, Norm is always waiting in the wings to take over that role in the rotation.
