Orlando Magic missing the light of Terrence Ross

In the Orlando Magic’s first win over the New York Knicks, they got a familiar burst of energy from their bench.

Terrence Ross scored all 22 of his points in the fourth quarter of the Magic’s stunning win at Madison Square Garden, their first win of the season. It was Ross doing all the things that have endeared him to fans and helped propel the Magic into the playoffs in 2019 and 2020.

He ran hard off screens and hit shots with any little bit of daylight defenses gave him. This is Terrence Ross, the Human Torch.

The Orlando Magic are used to seeing the Human Torch, Terrence Ross, light up and lift their bench. This season, though, the Magic have struggled to get him going.

That player has not been seen very much this year. He, after all, only had that big burst in the win over the Knicks. It was a fourth quarter of absolute brilliance and a reminder of why Ross remains the number one guy on the depth chart.

Ross though has not been that guy much of the season. He is averaging only 9.4 points per game, his lowest since his injury-filled 2018 season with the Magic, and he is taking only 7.4 field goal attempts per game, his lowest since his rookie season.

Among his 10 games to start the season, Ross has had four games where he failed to make a field goal. You would have to go back to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Bubble for his last game without a field goal and back to Oct. 28, 2016, for the fourth previous game he failed to make a field goal before this season.

Yes, Ross has only seven total games in a Magic uniform where he failed to make a field goal and four of them are this season.

Orlando has been unable to break him free even though he is shooting the ball better than he has in a while.

"“Terrence Ross is one of the best shooters in the NBA,” coach Jamahl Mosley said after Friday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs. “Any team that walks in here knows that point. The way they are guarding him, they are disrupting his touches, they are top blocking him, making him go to the opposite side of the floor.”"

Ross scored only two points in Friday’s game against the Spurs, taking just two shots. Those were the fewest field goal attempts Ross has taken since Nov. 25, 2017.

We are talking about some historic lows for Ross in his recent career.

Teams are indeed doing a lot more to keep the ball from getting to Ross. Knowing how young and even shorthanded this team is, defenses are putting a lot of their focus on switching on his screens, denying him the ball and top-blocking him. Top-blocking refers to when the defender puts himself between the man and the ball to try to force the player to make a backdoor cut.

But they are using every trick in the book. The trailing defender stays attached to his hip and crowds his shooting space. The big is stepping up to block a clear look at the basket. Ross has had to make some major adjustments this year.

Essentially defenses are doing everything they can to keep Ross from getting to the 3-point line. And they are crowding him whenever he does catch the ball.

Ross has done a lot of work to improve his shooting off the dribble. But at this point, Ross is struggling even to get the ball consistently.

This year, Ross is averaging just 31.0 touches per game according to tracking data from Second Spectrum. Last year, he averaged 37.4 touches per game. He averaged 29.3 touches per game in 2020 and 33.3 touches per game in 2019.

Ross can certainly be effective on fewer touches. That is probably not the point. But that was also with Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier soaking up a lot more attention and other players Ross was playing alongside players able to attack and create.

Ross has certainly been hurt this season by the Magic’s depleted and young bench.

The lineup Terrence Ross has played the most minutes with this season is in place of Jalen Suggs in the starting lineup. That group has a +2.1 net rating (117.5 offensive rating/115.4 defensive rating) in 17 minutes across four games.

His next most-used lineup is the starting lineup with Terrence Ross in for Franz Wagner. That group is -9.4 points per 100 possessions (103.1 offensive rating/112.5 defensive rating) in 15 minutes across six games.

Still, the Magic have a -21.6 net rating with Ross on the floor and score just 97.0 points per 100 possessions when he is on the floor. Orlando has struggled to get him going and struggled to make the most of his time.

What should be clear from those numbers is Ross, like the rest of the bench, has struggled a ton to start the season. But they are starting to find some consistency with their rotation and that might help get Ross free.

That might be the biggest thing that would benefit Ross. The team still has to spring him free though. Which means better screening and spacing offensively. That is something a young team and a young coach are still figuring out how to do.

There is still a lot of trust in Ross to make the right decisions with the ball. And while Ross can still shoot his team into and out of a game, he is improving as a playmaker and certainly as a leader on this young team.

"“The one thing about Terrence is he is willing to make the right play and the right pass,” Mosley said after Friday’s game. “He’s teaching these young fellas exactly the things to do and how to make the right play. Teams are scheming for him big time. We’ll continue to find ways to get him the ball and he’ll continue to make the right decision.”"

Ross’ biggest benefit right now is probably that leadership aspect. The thing that does not show up on a stat sheet.

Ross is seen often during games pulling guys aside and talking to them. Those experiences are super valuable. Everyone on the team seems to be trying to help each other learn.

As they continue to learn, they should be able to get Ross going again. Ross is shooting 41.9-percent and 31.9-percent from deep this year. His 54.5-percent 2-point field goal percentage is on track to be a career-best.

Ross is doing good things. It has merely been a problem of unlocking them and making the most of them.

Orlando certainly needs Ross to hit from deep and be a 3-point threat. But Ross is proving he can attack in other ways. Teams want him to do that and Ross needs to make them pay.

But the Magic need to get him those opportunities and find a way to increase his touches. If that happens, Ross should be able to reignite quickly.