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Terrence Ross Adjusting Well to New Environment

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton
Feb. 21, 2017

ORLANDO – Buried behind all-stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry for much of his five-year NBA career, Terrence Ross is eager to see what finally getting consistent minutes and a consistent role with the Orlando Magic can do for the trajectory of his basketball career.

Ross, 26, has always shown flashes of greatness as a versatile wing who could play either the shooting guard or small forward position, whether it was with his career 37.6 percent shooting stroke from 3-point range or his off-the-charts athleticism on explosive plays at the rim. Two examples of those flashes of greatness came when he scored 51 points and drilled 10 3-pointers in a 2014 game or when he won NBA slam dunk titles in 2013 and ’14.

But those moments usually came in short bursts because the Toronto Raptors – the team that drafted Ross eighth overall in 2012 – kept him mostly in a reserve role. Thanks to last week’s trade that saw the Magic acquire Ross and a 2017 first-round pick in exchange for power forward Serge Ibaka, Ross should get the change to spread his wings with the expanded role that he’s always hoped for.

``It’s a good opportunity for me here in Orlando,’’ Ross said. ``It’s a fresh start and I’m looking forward to it. I want to embrace my role – whatever it is going to be. I’m just really excited to play here.’’

Ross went through his first full-scale workout with his new Magic teammates on Tuesday. It was Orlando’s first workout following an extended break for the NBA All-Star Game.

Ross rushed to Orlando last Tuesday, hoping to play in the Magic’s game against the San Antonio Spurs prior to the break for the All-Star Game. He passed his physical that morning, observed the team’s practice and arrived at the Amway Center early for extra shooting practice only to be kept out of the game because Ibaka’s clearance in Toronto was delayed.

Instead, Ross will make his Magic debut on Thursday night when Orlando hosts the Portland Trail Blazers at the Amway Center. Tipoff is just after 7 p.m.

Orlando (21-37) still has faint playoff hopes thanks to the middle of the Eastern Conference limping through the past couple of weeks, but the final 24 games most likely will be more about mixing Ross with the team’s young core to see what direction the franchise should go in what could very well be another highly active offseason.

Head coach Frank Vogel liked what he saw from Ross on Tuesday, especially when he drilled several 3-point shots from the corner in the Magic’s new-look small-ball lineups. Vogel feels that having a 6-foot-7 wing like Ross will help the Magic better matchup against teams that play drive-and-kick basketball and perch three and four shooters around the 3-point arc.

``He knocked down some corner threes and I told him that in five years in Toronto I don’t think he missed one against me,’’ Vogel said with a laugh. ``I was excited to see those (3-pointers) go down and those points be in our column now.

``A lot of guys come to new teams and new situations and get opportunities to do different things, so we’re going to let him spread his wings a little bit and see what he’s capable of doing,’’ Vogel continued. ``Obviously, we’re moving to more of a spread lineup type of approach. … There are a lot of perimeter guys here who can play and Terrence is going to be one of those guys who has a lot of new opportunities.’’

Ross has played in 363 games in his NBA career, but he’s started just 132 of them because of his predicament of having to play behind DeRozan and Lowry. He started seven games last season as an injury replacement and he was used off the bench in all 54 of his games this season with the Raptors. Ross hasn’t played more than 25.5 minutes a game in the past three seasons – something that he hopes will change in the days, weeks and months ahead with the Magic.

Told by many of his former Raptors’ teammates and friends around the NBA that he could be a starter on most teams, Ross has always wondered what he could do with more of a primary role. With the Magic, he should get the crunch-time minutes and late-game shots that he’s always craved.

``I took it as a learning experience because I got to play behind one of the best (shooting) guards in the league,’’ Ross said, referring to DeRozan. ``I picked up a lot of things and habits from him. And Kyle helped me think about the game and understand different coverages. That helped me grow and now I’m trying to put all of that to test for me.

``At the time (in Toronto), I couldn’t think about what-ifs because I wasn’t in that situation,’’ Ross continued. ``Now, of course I’m thinking about (having an expanded role). But I just want to do whatever I can to help, whether it’s offense, defense, leadership or all of that. I just want to help with a little bit of everything and hopefully it will all come together for me.’’

Ross played his role of being a scorer off the bench well, averaging 10.4 points this season while shooting a career-best 44.1 percent from the floor. He is also a feared shooter from the perimeter, knocking down 37.5 percent of his 3-point shots this season and making at least one 3-pointer in 42 games. He’s drilled at least three 3-pointers in 16 games this season.

Also, he’s scored in double digits 27 times this season and he’s accounted for 20-or-more points five times, including a season-best 25 points on Dec. 12 in Milwaukee.

The Magic got a close look at Ross’ abilities when the teams played three times this season – two of which resulted in Orlando victories. In those three games against the Magic, Ross averaged 13.3 points and 1.3 steals while making 11 of 21 3-pointers. In 80 minutes against the Magic this season, Ross is a plus-47 – meaning his five-player grouping outscored the opposition by 47 points while he was on the floor.

Magic guard Evan Fournier was once in a similar situation as Ross as he played limited minutes behind more proven players early in his career. A trade to Orlando gave Fournier the opportunity to shine and that’s what he’s done this season while emerging as the team’s leading scorer. He sees a bright future ahead for his fellow 6-foot-7 wing scorer.

``Terrence is obviously a very good offensive players and he’s going to bring a lot of things for us,’’ Fournier said. ``His shooting ability is going to allow us to stretch the floor more and it was great to see him (fit in). … Terrence has some experience as a starter, too, and he’s been in both roles. DeRozan is so good and it’s hard to play in front of him. (Ross) definitely has a great chance with us. I don’t know what the rotation will be, but he’s definitely going to be playing a lot of minutes. I think we’ll play a lot together. The guy is good, so I’m pretty confident that he’ll bring a lot to our team.’’

Long before the trade to Orlando, Ross made plans to spend his break for the All-Star Game in the Bahamas – something he followed through with, especially because he was much closer in Florida than in Canada. Ross used the rest of his break to return to Toronto and prepare for life in sunny Orlando as opposed to frigid Canada.

He’s excited about his future opportunities with the Magic – both on the floor with more minutes and more shots and off the court with his dressed-down wardrobe choices.

``When I was packing when I went to Toronto, I was telling myself, `I’m not going to need this jacket, not going to need this jacket and not going to need this jacket!’’’ Ross said with a chuckle. ``I tried to get all the shorts I could get. All the sweats and T-shirts and sunglasses – I love it here and I love the weather.’’

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