Orlando Magic: Early Assessment Of Terrence Ross

Despite only playing two games for the team so far, Terrence Ross is making quite the impression for the Orlando Magic.

The Orlando Magic made only one meaningful move at the trade deadline, swapping out Serge Ibaka to the Toronto Raptors in favor of Terrence Ross.

While this may have been done because Ibaka is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the team gained a small forward who can stretch the floor.

He may have only played two games with his new team so far, but already we are starting to get a feel for what Ross can bring to the team.

A lesser known player to casual fans around the league, early signs suggest he can be a real hit in Orlando if he keeps this up.

All right, so Ross is no All-Star level player, but it’s honestly hard to find any negatives with what he’s brought to the team so far. The Magic have gone 1-1 over his first two games there, letting one slip away against the Portland Trail Blazers, and thoroughly thumping the Atlanta Hawks.

The manner in which they lost their first game back may seem familiar, but in fact it was anything but. The inability to close out the game was there, but with Ross on the court, there was a fluidity to the team that we have not seen this season.

Ross finished with 13 points, five rebounds and one assist, and he did so in 32 minutes of play. This tied the second-most minutes of action on the team. Saturday’s win over the Hawks was even better, with Ross recording team highs in scoring (24 points) and minutes (35).

We also saw what exactly he can give this team each night, as he made four of his seven long range attempts. For some context, no other Magic player made more than two (D.J. Augustin). Ross was out there doing exactly what the team expected of him.

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While that’s all well and good, even the Magic likely couldn’t have predicted just how much of a positive impact it would have on the other players on the court. With Ross patrolling the three-point line, there was suddenly a lot more space for other players to strut their stuff closer to the basket.

Nikola Vucevic has 16 points and 14 rebounds in the win over the Hawks, and looked much more like the double-double machine we’re used to.

With Ibaka no longer right there beside him for many plays on both ends, Vucevic was free to do what he does best: Use his elite footwork on the offensive end, as well as his underrated defensive IQ to be a difference-maker for this team.

The introduction of Ross also means Aaron Gordon can spend more time at his preferred power forward position.

Orlando Magic

Against the Hawks he had 18 points and three rebounds. Meanwhile against Portland, it was nine points and nine assists for Gordon.

Defenders had to be wary of the ability Ross has to shoot from distance, giving Gordon new looks.

The same is also true of Mario Hezonja. Although he hasn’t shared the court with Ross as much as other players, he seems to be drawing confidence on this refreshed roster.

He’s averaging over 21 minutes a game since just before the All-Star break, and his swagger looks to have returned too.

Although the 10 points he scored against the Hawks was not a lot, he seems much more in tune with what the team is doing on the defensive end.

Obviously the players themselves deserve credit for hitting the ground running as the end of the regular season comes into focus.

But Ross deserves so much of the credit for their mini-revival too. Although it’s a tiny sample size, the 13 points he’s averaging so far in Orlando is a career-high. Given that he’ll be asked to carry much more of the offensive burden on this team, that number will only rise as Ross plays more games. He’s come in and looks comfortable, shooting the ball very well.

He also brings effort defensively to the team, but the most underrated, and arguably exciting, part of Ross’ game is his passing ability.

It’s something that we rarely saw while he was a member of the Raptors, but the guy can really thread the needle.

It was more evident in the loss to the Trail Blazers, when he could have had six assists by halftime. On that occasion, his teammates couldn’t finish his passes, or else they were fouled as they went to the basket.

But Ross put the ball on the floor, penetrated the defense, and made some astute passes. He seemed to pick the right one each time too, a very encouraging sign.

Not only does this take some of the responsibility off of Elfrid Payton to set up teammates, it creates even more space for his team. We know he can shoot the ball well, but putting the ball on the floor too? All of a sudden his defender isn’t sure what he’ll do, creating panic amongst the opposition.

That ability to dribble the ball into traffic will also create more space. This is even more true when combined with the skills of Evan Fournier and Jeff Green.

It is something that figures to be important to this team as it tries to build some momentum for next season.

The Orlando Magic didn’t acquire an All-Star before the trade deadline. Terrence Ross was as good as it got.

Right now that looks to be ideal, however, as he has had an instant impact on this team. He’s making those around him better, and is providing the shooting touch this team needed.

Next: 2017 NBA Trade Deadline: Grades For All 30 Teams

There really have been no negatives to his introduction to the rotation, with the offense in particular finally having a spark to it again.

Terrence Ross is exactly what this team needed.