The modern NBA covets two skillsets above all else, athleticism and shooting, which are two things Terence Ross does at an elite level, even by NBA standards. The 6’7 wing out of Washington has been gifted with the ability to jump out of the gym, just google his highlight package and get ready to be blown away. Ross not only has great leaping ability but outstanding quickness and cat-like reflexes. The 25 year old has recently signed a 3 year 33 million dollar contract, and of course with big time money comes big time expectations. So what is holding Terrence Ross back? He has all the natural ability and a skillset that should make him if not an All-Star, very close to one.
Terrence Ross entered the league as an athlete with a picture perfect jump shot, and when he has been successful these are the two skills he has relied upon. Unfortunately, his efforts have been inconsistent to say the least as he is averaging a measly 9.1 points per game and a lowly 2.4 rebounds, not numbers a team wants from an 11-million dollar a year player. What makes Ross so perplexing is how efficient he is for someone who is almost solely a jump-shooter; 347 out of his 401 field goal attempts have been jump shots. From ten to twenty feet, Ross is shooting a very efficient 47%, most of which come from pull-up jump shots and floaters, add that to his 41% from three point range and his 37.5 inch max vert and it is shocking that he does not score at will.
Terrence Ross’ three biggest issues are his ball-handling, his movement off the ball and his strength. The 195 pound guard has failed to put on weight and add strength during his four year career, unlike his running mate Demar Derozan, who has become a two time All-Star with the help of his improved body. Adding strength would allow Ross to finish at the rim through contact, as he already shoots 68% in the restricted area due to his incredible leaping ability. One could only imagine what fifteen pounds of added muscle could do for the still developing Ross.
Added strength would take Ross’ game to the next level, but for his strength to be a factor, he must be able to get to the rim much more frequently. Terrence Ross has only had 39 field goal attempts from within five feet, most of which will have come through the fast break. Compare that to his 238 field goals attempted from 20-30 feet and it doesn’t take a genius to realize that he’s wasting his leaping ability. Only shooting 10% of his shots from within five feet is not an encouraging stat from a player who is 6’7 and has a Slam Dunk Championship to his name. Not only are most of his shots from the outside, but 61% of his field goal attempts come without taking a dribble, while only 11% of his field goals come with 3-6 dribbles. This is not a bad thing, meaning he moves the ball crisply once catching it, but it highlights his lack of attacking mentality. Even more troubling still is his lack of ability in one-on-one situations; any time he takes 7 dribbles or more Ross shoots a lowly 25% from the field, and an abysmal 26 eFG%. This just highlights how limited Ross is when he must rely putting the ball on the floor to score, and Dwane Casey’s offense is isolation heavy, requiring multiple dribbles from attacking guards. A perfect example of this deficiency was in Toronto’s recent game against the Timberwolves where Ross grabbed a rebound on the right side of the floor, he then tried to dribble past rooky Tyus Jones who easily anticipated Ross’ right hand dominance and drew the offensive foul. Probably the biggest negative effect of not being a good ball handler can be seen by Ross’ 0.7 free throw attempts per game, this must be unacceptable for Coach Casey. We have seen time and again that to be a productive and consistent scorer it is essential to get to the free throw line, and unless Ross magically turns into Steph Curry he will not be an exception to this rule.
Now the fact that he does most of his work offensively from catch and shoot situations is not the worst thing in the world as he is very adept at it, what causes the issue is the frequency of his shots. This would be a moot point if Ross had more off-ball movement. However, he often falls asleep on offense, preferring to stay in the corner and wait for Lowry or Joseph to penetrate for a kick-out three pointer as 49% of his shots come from catch and shoot threes.
Terrence Ross is an incredible talent and with his natural skillset he could be an elite scorer and should be the third best player on the Toronto Raptors. However due to his lack of dribbling ability and slight frame he has yet to reach his full potential.
