Terrence Ross has always known what his role for the Orlando Magic is: He is the shooter.
The team can have all of its rules and principles for other players but what constitutes a bad shot for others is the exact kind of shot the team wants to get for a player like Ross.
Throughout his time with the Magic, they have taken the bad games for the good games, knowing he will come through for them in big moments and potentially swing a few games in their favor in the fourth quarter. Ross was one of the driving forces to the Magic breaking their playoff drought in 2019.
That does not mean everything has been fine though.
On a rebuilding team last year, Ross had the worst shooting season of his career (at least since his rookie season) and really became an offensive drain. The player meant to give the bench unit some space but instead became something of a black hole for a group that struggled to keep the teams in games consistently.
Re-energized by those struggles, perhaps re-energized by the addition of the first overall pick in Paolo Banchero or perhaps re-energized by the need to show off for future trade suitors ahead of a contract year, Ross entered this season a seemingly different player and a different shooter.
Terrence Ross has followed a strong preseason with a strong start to the season as his shooting seems to have recovered and started hot, giving the Orlando Magic some much-needed shooting.
He had a strong preseason and found himself in the starting lineup with his shooting becoming a priority for a young roster in need of some space.
And he has delivered. Ross indeed looks completely rejuvenated.
Ross is averaging 17.7 points per game through the early season, a heavy outlier of 29 points from Saturday’s loss to the Boston Celtics is lifting that average up. But Ross is shooting 55.6-percent from the floor and 9 for 20 from beyond the arc through three games.
He may come back to earth. But this does not feel so irregular for Ross. The Magic should not expect 29-point outbursts all the time. It is still early in the season.
But Orlando knows it can expect Ross to be a reliable open shooter and floor spacer.
Ross has seen a lot of things turn differently beyond his shooting percentage. The shooting efficiency has been a big boost for sure and unlocks everything. But everything about Ross’ shot diet and the kinds of shots he has taken so far shows how much the Magic have worked to make his life easier.
Last year, Ross had one of the worst years of his career, averaging 10.0 points per game on 39.7-percent shooting and 29.2-percent shooting from deep. The Magic did not get the usual lift from Ross they rely on off the bench.
Teams certainly top-blocked him and made him a priority in their scouting reports. His 3-point field goal attempts dropped to 4.2 per game, his lowest since his first season in Orlando in 2018. They did a good job taking away his most potent weapon and contesting his shots.
This year, Ross is taking 6.7 3-point attempts per game. That is much closer to the nearly 7.0 per game he took during the Magic’s 2019 and 2020 playoff runs.
Additionally, Ross is taking 4.0 spot-up field goal attempts per game this year according to NBA.com, up from 1.8 last year. The Magic are scoring 0.92 points per possession on those shots.
In catch-and-shoot situations, Ross has taken 4.7 field goal attempts per game (all threes) and made 35.7-percent of those shots. He took only 2.9 such field goal attempts per game last year at 31.7 percent.
These are the shots that are the bread and butter for shooters. They are typically easier looks than the shots off cuts and movement that Ross had to rely on a ton last year. The Magic are creating many more of these better looks for Ross and that has been a big part of his increased efficiency.
Similarly then, Ross’ contested shot profile has changed a lot too this year.
Ross is shooting 6 for 12 on 3-point shots where the closest defender is four or more feet away, according to NBA.com. Those 4.0 “open” 3-points shots per game blow away the 2.0 “open” shots per game Ross took last year (making only 31.5-percent of those 3-pointers).
If there is a sign the Magic’s early season offense is doing a lot of good things, this should be the clearest sign.
They are getting their best shooter open shots and limiting his contested looks. That is how Ross has been able to find his rhythm and get comfortably into the game.
That has allowed him to hit contested shots a lot better too. Ross has made 11 of 19 shots so far with the closest defender 2-4 feet away. He made only 39.2 percent of those kinds of shots last year.
If that continues that would be a significant increase for Ross and a big way his offensive game could find a boost this season. He said in response to last season, he spent a lot of time training to take and make these tough shots more efficiently. So far that work seems to have paid off.
It is still early in the season, so who knows what statistics will stick around.
Ross, as a shooter, is as likely to go through a cold stretch as anyone. But as a veteran player, there does seem to be a bit more weight to his early-season play. There is no reason to think Ross would dip too much just because of his experience around the league.
The Magic clearly need it.
After four years of cementing himself as a sixth man, coach Jamahl Mosley decided to start Terrence Ross at the beginning of the season (with another sharpshooter in Gary Harris out with a knee injury). That move has proven to be a solid one.
Through three games, the Magic have a -1.7 net rating with Ross on the floor, the fourth-best mark on the team behind Kevon Harris, Cole Anthony and Bol Bol.
The Magic have a 110.7 offensive rating with Ross on the floor, the last of five players with an on-court net rating of 110 points per 100 possessions. The next player on that list is Wendell Carter at a subpar 106.1.
It is still far too early in the season to take any of this as gospel. There is still a lot that needs to get settled down within the Magic’s offense and the way they are playing.
Ross may be one of the few things the team can count on. And so far he has delivered with the kind of improvement and scoring burst the team has always relied on from him. If these numbers continue, the Magic could be in store for a much-improved offensive season