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I seem to be eternally optimistic about the Toronto Raptors‘ polarizing young guard Terrence Ross. While the majority of the Raptors fanbase decries him for bonehead plays, I just see the flashes of greatness and insist that those flashes will turn into habits given time. Ross posted a short rant on Instagram recently calling out fickle fans for jumping ship after what was technically the franchise’s best season, but the strong negative reaction essentially forced him to delete the post. I, on the other hand, saw where he was coming from, and I always respect when a player speaks out against the grain. To me it demonstrated, at the very least, a passion for the game and for his role on the team.
With all that said, Ross has a real responsibility to improve in certain areas if he wants to become a fixture on the team going forward. To my dismay, the recent news that he’ll be having surgery in the offseason likely means he won’t have one of those iconic game-changing summers. On the flip side, if he was in any way hampered by bone spurs in his left ankle this year, surgery could render him a more effective player.
If that is the case, the Raptors will need him step up on defense. Now, this is not the generic “Player X needs to play more defense” comment you see about almost every player in the offseason, and fans have indeed seen that directed at Ross constantly in Toronto. I think that this is truly a special point in Ross’s career and that the situation in Toronto calls for special change.
In 2014-15, the Raptors saw Kyle Lowry go from starting on the All-Star team to shooting 32 percent from the field against the Washington Wizards in the playoffs. How does a collapse like that happen? Well, there were obviously a bunch of factors at play, but I’d argue they all revolved around the broader issue of fatigue. Lowry plays at 110 percent on the basketball court, which can take its toll on a player who, let’s face it, has historically struggled with fitness at the NBA level.
One of the best ways to stay fresh is to ease up on defense, and that’s where Ross comes in. Ross needs to step up and take on opposing point guards when Lowry has a tough matchup. The ability to check point guards, I’d argue, has made players like Klay Thompson and Trevor Ariza indispensable to their teams; if Steph Curry had to defend all the All-Star caliber point guards in the West, would he still be the MVP? It’s an open question. The Raptors’ perimeter defense was absolutely atrocious this season, and Lowry’s not getting any nimbler at this point in his career. Ross needs to be the guy to shut players down on the perimeter.
He has the physical profile to do so; it’s simply a matter of going out there and doing it. He’s never going to be a LeBron James stopper, and fans should stop complaining when he fails to be that guy. But if he stays with the team this offseason, he’ll need to be a different kind of stopper.
Casey Sherman is the Toronto Raptors Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @shermham
