It seems that Terrence Ross is slowly starting to come out of his shell for the Toronto Raptors, one game at a time.
Terrence Ross’ contract would have ended after this season if the Toronto Raptors did not decide to extend his contract. But that they did back in November and ever since, fans and front office alike have expected big things from the young player.
As a backup option, trading him has always been a possibility, and if Ross continued to plateau then that option would have been far more likely.
But that’s not what’s happening. Over his last eight games, Ross is averaging 13.8 points in 30.3 minutes per game on 47.7 percent shooting from the field. He’s been earning all of that playing time by finally getting in the groove that Toronto needs him to be in.
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If Ross wants the Raps to keep him around, he knows he has to be productive to the point of being noticeable. Scoring in double digits on a consistent basis will do that. If he can even average something like 12 points per game, that would be huge for the Raptors and their bench.
When Ross is locked in, the entire team hits another level. It’s always been this way, but Ross has been more inconsistent throughout his young career than the auto tune in a Ke$ha song. Finally, however, that seems to be turning around.
In seven of his last eight games, Ross has been putting up at least 10 points a night. He’s back to being a scoring threat that helps space the floor if nothing else for his teammates. But he’s now making some shots he used to miss, and in his most recent outing against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, he put his skills on display.
While knocking down a couple threes and scoring a total of 14 points for the game, the most exciting two of those came when Ross attacked the basket in the half court – something he almost never does. This time, however, he drove right at the rim with zero fear, rose up and hammered down a monster dunk in traffic.
Where has that been all this time?
This is what Raptors fans have wanted of Ross for his entire career. He’s so much more athletic than most guys on the floor that it seems a crime when he doesn’t use it to its full potential – which is often.
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It’s fine that he shoots threes, and, in fact, that’s key to the Raptors’ success (he shoots 37.2 percent from deep), but at some point when shots aren’t falling or you just need to give your squad a kickstart, you’ve got to take your opponent off the dribble. Usually, Ross does this by easily slipping past his perimeter defender, driving to the top of the key and pulling up for a jumper.
That works sometimes. But as DeMar DeRozan could tell you, attacking the basket yields much better results.
The most frustrating part is looking at Ross’ free throw attempts. For a guy who’s super athletic, he averages less than one free throw attempt per game. He’s taken 12 total shots at the line this season. And to top it all off, he’s made all of them. That’s right, he’s 100 percent from the charity stripe.
There’s no excuse. He’s a good free throw shooter. He can leap over small buildings. Why the heck isn’t he barreling into the paint where he’s guaranteed easy points? It’s one of the most enigmatic and confusing conundrums in the NBA. Ross must watch game tape. Has no one pointed this out to him? Does he not realize that he gets free points if he gets fouled?
Sigh.
This is why that dunk is such a beacon of hope. Perhaps with that, Ross will realize that getting to the bucket more often would be a good idea. If that happens, look out!
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Even still, the Toronto front office must be enjoying what they’re seeing out of the wing as of late. He is still only 24 years old. Finally, that extension is starting to look like it was worth it and the idea of trading him should be beginning to fade away.
We’re getting closer. Next step: get to that free throw line, T-Ross!