Orlando Magic cannot eliminate Terrence Ross as a starter

The goal for any starting lineup — any lineup really or at least the structure of any rotation — should be to get the five best players on the floor as much as possible.

The way the NBA is going now with so many players having positional versatility and lineups getting more and more non-traditional, teams are having more freedom to play these players more.

That includes the roles they put those players in.

A lot of people obsess over starting lineups. There is a certain amount of prestige about getting introduced. And no matter how many times anyone tells you that it is about who finishes the game, not who starts it, starting still seems to matter.

Never mind that players like Lou Williams and Jamal Crawford elevated the flamethrower scorer off the bench to a high art.

Terrence Ross in the three years with Steve Clifford seemed to be elevating that to art too. He should have gotten far more recognition for his sixth man work as the Orlando Magic made the playoffs in 2019 and 2020. His play at the beginning of the fourth quarters in 2019 helped spark the Magic’s playoff run.

Throughout his tenure, coach Steve Clifford was hesitant to bring Ross into the starting lineup. He preferred to keep his rotation as similar as he could even through all the injuries the team faced in 2020 and 2021. Ross has started just two games in the last three years and 46 games total in five seasons with the Magic.

A new coach will bring a new outlook on the team. Several players are hoping to make a good impression and get a new look from the staff. And that means everyone’s roles should get re-evaluated to some extent.

That includes a veteran like Ross.

The Orlando Magic are reconsidering everything as they start under a new coach. That should include at least some thought of moving Terrence Ross from super-sub to starter.

The Magic need veterans to support their young lineup and Ross is undoubtedly one of the five best players currently on the roster. When games are tight, Ross will still be a key player. As much focus as everyone puts on the starting lineup, the closing lineup for the Magic will be just as crucial to the team.

But new coach Jamahl Mosley likely will reopen the thought process for that starting group. And that will reopen the opportunity for the Magic to start Ross once again.

It would be tough to make a change. Ross is still probably best coming off the bench. He is playing starter’s minutes anyway and would undoubtedly help with the starting group’s spacing. But that is true of any lineup

That bench role is where he has found a groove as a player and shed some of the problems that plagued him as a starter earlier in his career.

But the team has to consider everything. And the benefits Ross might bring as a starter are still key for the team.

The last time Ross was a starter

It has been a long time since Terrence Ross was a full-time starter. As noted above, Ross has started precious few games since joining the Orlando Magic and even fewer with Steve Clifford as the head coach.

He started two games last year — an emergency start with the Orlando Magic roster depleted with injury during a West Coast trip in a blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns and the devastating loss to the Atlanta Hawks in March that signaled the end of the team’s playoff hopes in many ways.

It is not that Ross did not produce in those two games — he averaged 25.5 points per game and shot a 53.8-percent effective field goal percentage. But it is a small sample size. Hardly anything to bank on. And the team was supremely depleted.

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You cannot draw any conclusions other than Ross is a bucket no matter where you put him.

Scaling back, Ross has averaged 11.6 points per game with a 50.9-percent effective field goal percentage in 46 games as a starter with the Magic. The majority of those starts came when he first arrived in Orlando under Frank Vogel.

In 2018, Ross started 20 games averaging 9.3 points per game with a 48.8-percent effective field goal percentage. In 2017, he started 24 games averaging 12.5 points per game with a 51.7-percent effective field goal percentage.

Things have changed for Ross plenty since then. He is more sure of himself.

But a big part of that was the role that Clifford carved for him. Just like for young players, consistency helped Ross shed any labels as an inconsistent starter — he averaged 9.8 points per game on a 50.7-percent effective field goal percentage in his last season as a full-time starter in 2015.

Ross may certainly be more equipped to handle the starting job than he was earlier in his career. But there is no denying the success he has had coming off the bench, where he can be a flamethrower for the team.

When he has played with the starters though, there is not a noticeable drop-off in his play. It seems he can fit wherever he is needed.

Movement and spacing

The Orlando Magic are not looking to turn Terrence Ross into their leading scorer.

The way Ross plays, he works best with an offense focused on creating open shot opportunities for him. That is how the Magic built their offense with their second unit.

Still, Ross is a different player. The Magic are a different team. And they cannot ignore all the benefits Ross brings to the team.

Even in a year that felt uneven — he averaged a career-high 15.6 points per game with a poor for him 48.5-percent effective field goal percentage — Ross still had a positive impact relatively.

The Magic had a -8.8 net rating with Ross on the floor with a 103.2 offensive rating. They had a -9.6 net rating with Ross off the floor although the offense rose to 103.9 points per 100 possessions.

After the trade deadline (until Ross’ final game last year on April 16), the Magic had a -10.9 net rating with a 105.6 offensive rating with Ross on the floor and -12.4 net rating with a 99.8 offensive rating.

After the trade deadline, it became clear just how much of a positive impact Ross could provide.

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Ross will likely remain the Magic’s closer. Or at least one of them. He is still the player that gives the team most spacing.

According to data from Basketball Index, Ross rates as one of the players with the most 3-point shooting gravity, tough 3-point shot-making and self 3-point shot creation in the league — ranking all in the top 10-percent of the league in these measures. His 5.3 points off movement per 75 possessions ranks in the 96th percentile in the league.

Very clearly Ross is someone defenses have to account for and any slip will lead to problems. And that is hard to keep out of the lineup. the magic should be trying to figure out ways to use this as much as they can.

What would happen if the majority of these minutes came against starters?

The clutch factor

Terrence Ross’ history would suggest that some of this would disappear. He did all these things as a reserve and in the comfort of that role.

In fairness though, Ross would still be a finisher. He is one of the most clutch players in the league at least by perception — or fan perception.

He was solid last year averaging 1.7 points per game in clutch situations with a 53.6-percent effective field goal percentage. Ross scored the most points in clutch situations on the team last year.

In 2020, Ross averaged 1.3 points per game with a 45.3-percent effective field goal percentage in clutch situations. The year before, he averaged 1.6 points per game with a 48.1-percent effective field goal percentage in clutch situations.

That should signal how random clutch situations can be and how they are not always the best measure.

At the end of the day, the Orlando Magic have to find a way to get the most out of Ross. That in turn will help them get the most of their team. He is obviously a player who has a ton of benefits for teammates and the team.

A new coach means new ideas and a new approach to the team. That will inevitably lead to at least some consideration of moving Ross from his super sixth man role into the starting lineup. It would be criminal not to consider this change.

Ross clearly makes a positive impact and clearly makes his teammates better. With such little shooting, the Magic need Ross and his shooting more than ever to create stability.

With that being the case, the team has to consider changing his role and featuring him as a starter in addition to his role as one of the team’s key closers.

This does not seem likely to happen. Then again, we have never seen Mosley coach the full team yet.