TORONTO

Winning the dunk contest was one thing. Defending it is another.

Terrence Ross is leaving nothing to chance.

The sophomore swing man began working up some dunk options a couple of days ago.

That’s well in advance of his preparation a year ago when he won it, but Ross says it’s all going to come down to the field when it comes to his chances of repeating.

“It really just depends on whoever is there,” Ross said of the field for the dunk off. “Then you get a feel for what people can do or what sneaky things they can do and try and get away with.”

The field has yet to be announced, but Ross, who has known since he won a year ago that he would be back to defend, has some general and very definite ideas of who he would like to see in the competition.

First the general — “I don’t know, somebody I could beat,” he said laughing at his own little joke.

Specifically though, the first name that Ross came up with in terms of guys he would like to see challenge him was Detroit’s Tony Mitchell.

Now Mitchell isn’t exactly a household name in the NBA yet, but then again neither was Ross a year ago when he won.

“In my opinion, if he gets in it he’ll be in the position I was in last year,” Ross said. “Nobody kind of knows he can dunk, I mean they know he can dunk, but they don’t know what he can do. I know he’s a freak athlete from what I’ve heard.”

Mitchell has played all of 34 minutes so far this season for the Pistons and has had a stint with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. A second-round pick by the Pistons out of North Texas. He did attend the NBA rookie orientation with his fellow 2013 draftees and was voted the most athletic in the class of 2013.

Ross also named Detroit’s Andre Drummond and Orlando’s Victor Oladipo as guys he would like to see before running out of ideas.

FIELDS GOES UNDER THE KNIFE

Landry Fields needed a tuneup.

The previous surgery to address ulnar nerve release in his right wrist didn’t quite do the job, so Fields went back under the knife for what the team called a minor surgical procedure to, in essence, finish the job.

The team anticipates Fields returning to basketball-related activities in three weeks.

The feeling was there was still a hitch in Fields’ shot at times and it was better to address that problem now than wait.

Fields wasn’t getting much run as it were so the timing of the surgery isn’t overly problematic.

The team has been healthy for the most part this year. Head coach Dwane Casey has been going with a guard rotation of DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, John Salmons and Greivis Vasquez.