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Does DeMarre Carroll’s arrival mean Terrence Ross’ departure?

By Brian Boake

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One of the most pleasant aspects of editing this website is engaging with intelligent readers. Recently I postulated that the Toronto Raptors’ starting lineup next season would see a simple equation of: Amir Johnson out & DeMarre Carroll in at power forward. That view was contested by savvy commenters like Guy, Sundeep and Hu Nee who believe Carroll is the incoming small forward, meaning disappointing incumbent Terrence Ross will be banished to the second unit, or out of town. These commenters also suggest a training camp battle is pending at power forward, with returnee Patrick Patterson and new guys Bismack Biyombo and Luis Scola all vying for the slot. Could James Johnson be in the conversation?

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Dec 18, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Patrick Patterson (54) dunks the ball as forward Tyler Hansbrough (50) and Charlotte Bobcats center-forward Bismack Biyombo (0) look on at the Air Canada Centre. Charlotte defeated Toronto 104-102 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Raptors didn’t sign Carroll to languish on the bench. While anything’s possible, I can’t see Jonas Valanciunas, Kyle Lowry or DeMar DeRozan being threatened. There’s four starters, so who’s the fifth one, and how does he fit? That will be decided by who can provide the best defense within a team concept, while being able to play faster on offense. Perhaps the latter is key.

The Raptors appear enamored with the notion of being San Antonio North, which means rapid ball movement will be the order of the day. Last season, Ross was stuck in the corner countless times, as Kyle and Jonas were playing high pick & roll, or DeMar was dribbling the ball while probing for a gap into which to attack the basket. I’m looking forward to never seeing those sluggish half-court sets again. Instead we can hope for skip passes, and all five players in motion.

Last season, the Raptors attempted an average of 25.1 three-pointers per game, which ranked ninth in the NBA, and connected on 8.9, good for eighth. The co-relation between 3-balls tried/made and team success is very high. Every team ranked above the Raptors in makes won a minimum of 50 games. If the Raptors are ever going to get out of the rut of being good but not great, they will need to find a starting lineup which can hit long balls consistently. And there’s nothing in hoops more valuable than finding the open man to take those shots, rather than tossing up a hope shot while having a defender draped all over you at the end of the shot clock. Hence the league-wide rush to replicate the Spurs’ system, which the champion Golden State Warriors were able to do.

Carroll shot 39.5% from deep in his last season as a Hawk, while Ross came in at 37.2%. Their rates were higher than their teams, so there’s little advantage gained by either individual.

I’m going to stand my ground for the time being. Ross and Carroll can more than co-exist in the Brave New World of positionless basketball – they can thrive. Whether the Raptors can survive with little rebounding, and no paint protection save JV, are legitimate and open questions which I’ll take a run at next post.

Bring it on, Rapture Nation. Should Ross get yet another chance to show he’s more than a gifted athlete? Let’s get some commenting happening.

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