Terrence Ross has had to fight off talk of his inconsistency for several years with the Toronto Raptors. The Orlando Magic gave him a second chance.
Terrence Ross has been the focus of promise and the focus of frustration for the better part of five years. For every person that believes Ross has the talent and potential to become an All Star, there is another person who looks at his production and sees the frustrating inconsistency.
That had been Ross’ entire career with the Toronto Raptors. His former coach Dwane Casey put it best, everyone celebrates Ross’ 50-point game, but everyone forgets he scored only six the next night. It was 12 actually.
That is the maddening inconsistency Ross has displayed for his career. Everyone ready to anoint him the starter has ultimately faced disappointment. Ross certainly had every opportunity with the Raptors, but ultimately found himself more successful coming off the bench. Yet still maddening.
Maybe Ross needed a new setting to unlock his talent. To get a new fan base excited.
It certainly was a new opportunity. Terrence Ross went to the Orlando Magic in February’s deal involving Serge Ibaka. He was slowly getting pushed out of the lineup in Toronto as younger players fought their way in. But this was another chance to start.
The Magic knew they were getting a strong athlete in Ross. He is a former dunk contest champion, after all. They also knew they were getting someone who could hit a 3-pointer, a desperate need for Orlando. It seemed like an experiment worth trying.
Orlando Magic
Ross was not quite the dominant scorer everyone wanted him to be. He was not quite the surefire, aggressive creator the Magic need either. But he reached a small measure of consistency as a starter with the Magic. They unlocked some of his playmaking potential and involved him in different ways.
It was, at least, enough to intrigue. And enough to keep him a part of the Magic and their starting lineup moving forward.
Of course, that was a small sample size. And the season was already lost. Terrence Ross can still get lost in the shuffle — see the crowd clamoring for Jonathon Simmons to start.
Ross is still searching for that ever-elusive consistency. He has not had a year where he started full time since 2015. He is getting that opportunity again. It may well be his last chance to get everyone on board.
What to Look For
It is hard to pin down exactly what everyone expects from Terrence Ross.
There is the bunch who think he is held back and could be a player due for a star turn. Some see at least a distant parallel to Tracy McGrady, down to him coming from the Raptors. But here is an athletic wing who has always played behind others and maybe has the temperament to blend in. He just needed to come out of his shell.
Then there is the bunch who see five years of play already as evidence he kind of is what he is already. A bit inconsistent, but able to go on scoring binges. Just generally a solid scorer who is reliable to hit an open 3-pointer.
The Magic saw exactly the latter, more than the former. But not the inconsistent role player the Raptors had.
They saw a solid starter who was reliable and strong. Just maybe not enough to rely on to go for 20 points every night.
Ross finished his 24 games with the Magic averaging 12.5 points per game while shooting a 51.7 percent effective field goal percentage. His 3-point percentage was not perhaps as high as the Magic would ultimately like — 34.1 percent — but he was still an effective and efficient player. He took to the way the Magic were using him better than perhaps they could have expected.
The Magic put him more at the elbow area on curls and put the ball in his hands a bit more. He was not attacking in traditional pick and rolls, but he was able to get the ball with some separation and room to attack. This is where he could use his quickness a bit more effectively and display a better-than-expected passing ability.
Ross was a bit more dynamic than he showed in Toronto, especially when he was used as mostly a spot-up shooter. The Magic put him in different spots on the floor, experimenting a bit with his usage, and found a few things that could work.
He became a solid starter. At least for this team.
What Could Go Wrong
Terrence Ross has always been dogged with the criticism over his consistency. Or perhaps it is failed expectations.
Ross was taken with the eighth overall pick and was immediately tagged as a potential future star. How could someone with his athleticism and shooting ability not make it? Maybe he was a bit undersized, but he had the tools. And he would occasionally show them off. Enough to tantalize and entice his believers. People still expect that of him.
It might be a bit unfair. What he did with the Magic is probably a bit more realistic.
But there was still some areas of concern with Ross — aside from the fact he seemed to average career highs in scoring and assists with the Magic. The biggest one was his 3-point shooting.
There is a bit of a notion the perception of a player as a shooter might sometimes be more valuable than actually being able to make shots. But, at the end of the day, the Magic are still relying on Ross to make shots.
So his 34.1 percent 3-point shooting was a bit concerning. Maybe the Magic did not do enough to get him open shots. Maybe Ross just missed shots. His 5.6 3-point attempts per game with the Magic would be a career high if taken over the course of a season. Ross has been a fairly consistent 37 percent 3-point shooter on about five attempts per game.
The Magic will need his 3-point shooting to come back around.
Then there is that always-present consistency issue. In nine of Ross’ 24 games with the Magic, he scored fewer than 10 points. Some of those came at the end of the season when Frank Vogel sacrificed Terrence Ross’ minutes to get Marcus Georges-Hunt and some other players more playing time. But he also had some games that were extremely strong — four games with 20-plus points and nine games of 15-plus points.
Scoring is probably not the be all for Ross. But it is an important role for him to play. And the Magic want to see him reach a fairly consistent level where he is averaging around 15 points per game with scoring staying in double digits.
He seemed to find more of it with the Magic. But the sample size is so small, it seems everyone is waiting for his inconsistency to return.
A New Way
A new team and a new coach mean there are some adjustments to usage and the way a player plays. Coaches obviously want to put the player in a position to succeed and take advantage of his skills.
Where in Toronto, Ross spent a lot of time operating behind the 3-point line as a spot-up shooter, Vogel used him in some different ways and helped him find some success. Ross put up career-best numbers in his small sample with the Magic. It may not have been quite the star turn some hoped for Ross, but it was still strong.
Ross’s 12.5 points per game, 1.8 assists per game and 11.1 field goal attempts per game would all be career highs if extended over the course of an entire season. The Magic gave him the keys in a way he had not gotten with the Raptors ever before.
A lot of it is seen in his assist numbers, which by far was his highest in his career. The Magic used a little bit more of his playmaking working him on curls around the elbow and engaging him in pick and rolls. Ross had 1.9 possessions per game as the ball handler in pick and rolls last year with the Magic. the previous year with the Raptors he had just 1.1 per game.
No one is relying on Ross to run the pick and roll full time. But using him in different ways seemed to get him better shots to get a more consistent usage out of him. It kept him involved and engaged in the game, allowing him to find success and some consistency.
It also helped to be in the Magic’s sped-up offense. Ross thrives in transition and he thrived in Orlando’s new system.
The question then is how do the Magic repeat this success? Or even is this something Ross can replicate next year? That has always been the part that follows Ross around throughout his career.
It seems like the Magic got more out of him than anyone had before. Orlando hopes to see him take another leap forward.
Overall Outlook
Terrence Ross has spent a career searching for the right place and the right role for him. He never quite took to the ball as the star — not that he was given that chance with the Raptors. But he never quite performed consistently as a spot-up shooter or sixth man. Ross’ career has been in search of that consistency.
He found a little bit of that consistency in his short stint with the Magic after the trade last February. It was encouraging for the Magic.
Ross will probably never become the uber-talented star some thought he could be. That may not be in his makeup. But he is undoubtedly a valuable player. He just needed the right amount of usage and involvement to get him going.
That was something even the Magic struggled with. He had several games where he put up big scoring numbers early in the game and then would disappear late. Ross needs plays run for him to be successful or to stay in rhythm and involved. That is always a challenge.
But Ross showed he was plenty capable of taking on that role. He showed he can step up to the plate when called upon. It is just a matter of the team involving him and putting him in the right spots.
The Magic will still need more from Ross, and he seems to recognize it. Orlando needs to see Ross become a more consistent 3-point shooter. And it would be interesting to see him grow his passing game. There is still an area for him to do so.
But Ross is largely what he is. He is not going to be the star player some hoped for when they watched him drop 50 points a few years ago. He may still have those outbursts in him from time to time. But he is just a solid starter and supporting player. Asking him to do much more than that will probably drive the inconsistency narrative that has dogged him his entire career.
Next: 2018 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: D.J. Augustin
At last, maybe, the Magic can employ him in the right role and get the most of him for a consistent career.