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Toronto Raptors: 3 Keys To NBA Finals Chances

By Nathan Van Hoff

Dec 13, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey talks to guard DeMar DeRozan (10) and forward Tyler Hansbrough (50) and guard Terrence Ross (31) against the Philadelphia 76ers at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the 76ers 108-100. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 13, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey talks to guard DeMar DeRozan (10) and forward Tyler Hansbrough (50) and guard Terrence Ross (31) against the Philadelphia 76ers at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the 76ers 108-100. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 10, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) dribbles the ball past Boston Celtics guard Evan Turner (11) during the first half at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) dribbles the ball past Boston Celtics guard Evan Turner (11) during the first half at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Terrence Ross

Despite the rumors surrounding Terrence Ross leading up to the deadline, the Raptors decided to stick with their talented third-year wing. He started 62 games last year and 40 this year before being demoted to the bench for the last 14 games, including the Raptors’ blowout win against the East leading Atlanta Hawks.

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey opened up to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun about Ross’ performance before the break.

“He’s been up-and-down,” said the coach. “He’s one of the best athletes in the league. But he needs to take advantage of that. Defensively, first, that’s where we need him to be top-notch. That’s the first thing. And I think, offensively, I’ve opened the reins up too much. He doesn’t distinguish between good shots and bad shots or whether to drive it.”

The combination of Ross’ talent, inconsistency and the Raptors’ team success led to the thought that he might get flipped for a veteran that could address some of the Raptors’ issues, especially on the defensive end. That didn’t happen and now it is on Ross to become more consistent.

Confidence

Confidence is important to any endeavor. If you don’t believe you can accomplish a task, that makes it much more difficult, many times impossible. Confidence is especially important for professional athletes in general and NBA players in particular. Legendary coach and current New York Knicks president Phil Jackson had this to say about elite athletes and confidence. From Patrick Fraser of Esquire,

“They have a sense of confidence that goes beyond a sense of failure — somehow, the fear of failure can’t inhibit their ability to perform.”

Ross’ confidence has at times “inhibited his ability to perform.” He has all the talent in the world—as his 51-point franchise record-setting performance below illustrates—but doesn’t always show it.

Even with his immense talent, he has been unable to perform at a high level consistently. His career box score is a bit underwhelming.

Season Age Tm G GS MP FG% 3P% FT FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PTS
2012-13 21 TOR 73 2 17.0 .407 .332 0.4 0.6 .714 2.0 0.7 0.6 0.2 0.7 6.4
2013-14 22 TOR 81 62 26.7 .423 .395 1.0 1.2 .837 3.1 1.0 0.8 0.3 1.1 10.9
2014-15 23 TOR 53 40 25.7 .414 .368 0.7 0.8 .800 3.1 1.0 0.6 0.3 0.9 10.3
Career 207 104 23.0 .416 .372 0.7 0.9 .800 2.7 0.9 0.7 0.3 0.9 9.1

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/20/2015.

Our own Joshua Howe detailed the case for keeping Ross before the deadline, which is what the Raptors ultimately did. That decision was based on where Ross might be as a player in the future, not where he is right now. The fact that the Raptors didn’t make a move was a show of confidence in Ross, his eventual development and the team.

From Holly MacKenzie for Raptors.com,

“We feel confident in this team,” Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri said. “In terms of growth, in terms of growing, we’re still a long ways away. We understand that, but a lot of things that were put in front of us were things that maybe [helped] immediately, something that makes you a slightly better now, but it also takes away from younger guys continuing to grow. We felt it wasn’t the time.

“Talking to Masai last night and again [today], we’re sticking with our guys,” head coach Dwane Casey said. “These are the guys we believe in. We’re going to grow with our guys.”

Despite the vote of confidence from Ujiri and Casey, Ross didn’t exactly deliver in the win over the Hawks. He scored three points on 1-of-8 shooting from the floor, 1-of-5 from three, grabbed two rebounds and dished two assists in 22 minutes of action. His lone field goal came on a three with 48 seconds left in the game to put the Raptors up 105-77, well after the contest was decided.

The Raptors have to hope that their trust in Ross will pay off in the long run.

Next: DeMar DeRozan

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