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How Terrence Ross can remain a starter for Raptors

By Brian Boake

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DeMarre Carroll was the Toronto Raptors’ big free-agent signing of this summer. He joined our team after what must have been a boffo presentation by GM Masai Ujiri and his staff. DeMarre would not have been on the Raptors’ shopping list had the team been getting consistent production from incumbent small forward Terrence Ross.

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Now the wires are abuzz with speculation that TRoss is in line for a big raise and extension from the Raptors. Here we have a classic example of cognitive dissonance, to wit: “TRoss has lost his job to a guy who’s guaranteed to be a starter next season and beyond. Why would you even consider giving a hefty raise to someone who’s just been demoted?”

Apr 1, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) dunks the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter at Target Center. The Raptors win 113-99. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

That’s certainly a reasonable query, but what if the assumption is wrong? Is there a configuration of Toronto’s starting five in which both DeMarre and TRoss are starters? I’m glad you asked – yes, there is.

As we all know, the NBA is more and more a league which emphasizes the power of the 3-ball. Stephen Curry led his Golden State Warriors to a title long awaited in the Bay Area, and if there’s ever been a shooter like Curry (his fellow Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, isn’t too shabby either), I haven’t seen him. Ray Allen, the only other pure shooter in the conversation (pace Reggie Miller), has championship rings from two teams. The Spurs have won multiple titles with a ball-movement offense. I don’t think I need to cough up mountains of stats to convince you of this, so let’s move on.

If we postulate a starting lineup of Jonas Valanciunas, DeMarre Carroll, Terrence Ross, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, what can we expect? Four of the five can shoot from distance (well, DeMar struggles but should improve with more open looks), and JV is respectable to about 15 feet. Multiple shooters from distance put huge pressure on defenders; like having a huge number of singles hitters in baseball, these guys complement each other. The keys are open looks, generated by quick and numerous passes, and a point guard who gets the troops in order quickly. Anyone remember the “7 seconds or less” Phoenix Suns of the Steve Nash days? Leading that bunch brought Steve back-to-back MVP awards.

Defensively, we don’t suffer as much as you might think by a lack of size. There are teams which crash the offensive glass, and those which fire and fall back. Our small-ball Raptors would be the latter. If our guys are ready to defend, their speed and quick hands are likely to cause serious disruption in the opponents’ offensive sets.

Finally, if we need to go big, we’ve got a bunch of very tall people on the bench, just itching to join battle.

I don’t know if any of these “no power forward” ideas are on coach Dwane Casey’s whiteboard, but I’d be surprised and disappointed if they are not. The NBA is a 82-game string of chess matches, and flexibility and imagination are essential. Whether Terrence Ross could (finally!) reach his potential with the scheme I’m proposing is impossible to know, until coach tries it out. Yet another thing to be watching for in pre-season games…

Next: Can Lucas Nogueira crack the rotation?

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