Lewis Couldn't Handle the Pressure

[huge4]

I noticed there's a new article on Rashard on Insider with the heading, "Rashard Lewis couldn't handle the pressure of his big contract last season, so what's taking the pressure off this season?"

I was wondering if someone with Insider could give us the gist of exactly how he "didn't handle the pressure" last season. Maybe he didn't play like the top whatever contract in the league, but I thought he performed consistently with the rest of his career.

[RawTalent]

basically it says that he will look to be more selfish when the team needs it.

[magicfan4life05]

ESPN Insider is such garbage, they take local newspaper articles/headlines and put in their insider archives so you need to pay to access it.

Basically it came from Denton's article


http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.d ... rentPage=0

MORE COMFORTABLE LEWIS BELIEVES HE'S READY FOR BIG SEASON

By John Denton

FLORIDA TODAY

ORLANDO -- Rashard Lewis meshed perfectly with his new Orlando Magic teammates last season, refusing to grumble about a tricky position switch or his role as the team’s often overlooked third scorer.

But what was deemed as a positive last season is now a negative and an Orlando team that has its sights affixed on the NBA Finals is fully expecting Lewis to break out of his shell this season.

``I think Rashard deferred too much last season because he’s a very unselfish guy,’’ teammate Jameer Nelson said. ``We definitely need him to be more selfish this season.’’

Lewis, as is his low-key, mild-mannered nature, agrees whole-heartedly with the assessment that he tried to fit in too much around his new teammates and coaches. Still, he was highly effective, averaging 18.2 points and ranking among the NBA’s leaders in 3-pointers (226) while sliding over from small forward to power forward. And in the playoffs, he was at his absolute best, whether it was holding his own against all-star Chris Bosh in the first round or pouring in a career-best 33 points in the one win against Detroit.

That’s the player the Magic want to see more of this season. And that’s the approach, one where he is aggressively seeking out shots and attacking the rim, that Lewis is planning to showcase this season.

``(Being more selfish) is something that I need to do, but not necessarily trying to do,’’ Lewis said. ``It’s just my nature to play the right way. When I’m double teamed I’m going to look for the open man. But at some points in the game I do have to be more selfish to score more points when we need baskets. I’m more comfortable with the system, with the guys and now I’m more ready to be a little more selfish.’’

General manager Otis Smith has been prodding Lewis to not defer so much to small forward Hedo Turkoglu, who had a breakout season in part because Lewis kept defenses honest. And head coach Stan Van Gundy has pushed for Lewis to try and get to the rim, and ultimately the free throw line, more by resisting the notion to shoot so many 3-pointers.

After all, the Magic didn’t reward Lewis, a one-time all-star during his playing days with the Seattle SuperSonics, a six-year, $118 million contract for him to just fit in. He has the skill set to be a dominant scorer, but often his mellow demeanor saps some of his aggressiveness. The Magic are trying to change that aspect of the 6-foot-10, 230-pound Lewis.

Lewis admitted recently that the pressure of having to live up to the largest contract in Magic history weighed on him mentally last season. He made $16 million last season and this season his $17.2 million deal ranks as the 15th highest in the NBA.

``There was a lot of pressure with the contract and having to learn the guys and the coaching staff, but this year I feel no pressure at all,’’ Lewis said candidly. ``I’m more relaxed, more my self and out there to just play the game. I have that pressure off and I’m just ready to play ball.’’

Part of Lewis’ newfound comfort is getting used to the sometimes abrasive Van Gundy. Lewis is usually a man of few words and his voice at times fails to rise above a whisper. So imagine how he felt those first few months around Van Gundy, who rarely stopped screaming in practice.

``When we first heard that voice it was like, `This guy screams too much and it’s starting to get on my nerves.’ I didn’t know if I could take it too much and I wanted to scream back at him,’’ Lewis said. ``But that’s just the way he coaches the game. He talks loud, he coaches loud and he’s trying to get his point across.’’

Lewis got his points across last spring in the playoffs when the Magic needed it most. Expected to get shredded inside by the 6-foot-11 Bosh, Lewis frustrated Toronto’s best player with some gritty defense. And he was one of the few bright spots in a 4-1 defeat against Detroit, pouring in 33 points on 11 of 15 shooting in Orlando’s Game 3 victory.

``’Shard came up big time for us in the playoffs,’’ Nelson said. ``He’s the type of guy who never complains when you tell him to do something, but he’s always ready to go. He stepped it up in the playoffs. We were successful because of him.’’

It’s franchise center Dwight Howard and Nelson who are the official co-captains of the team, but Lewis said he considers himself ``another captain.’’ Having handled his transition from Seattle to Orlando and from the Sonics to the Magic smoothly, Lewis feels he’s ready now for a big season.

His comfort, he said, will show in his more aggressive approach this season. It will show in his more outward emotional releases, adding that ``I’m not afraid to curse out Jameer, Dwight and Turk if they need it because I’m trying to make them better.’’ Mostly, the Magic will get the player they paid a whopping $118 million for this season, Lewis said.

``Last year was different for me because I was still fitting in with the guys, seeing how they like to play and what their personalities are,’’ he said. ``This year I’m comfortable with the guys, comfortable with the city and I’m settled in my house. I have to step my game up in certain situations. Big games and performing in those situations, that’s what they pay me for.’’

[MagicMadness]

If he CAN be more selfish, then definitely go for it.

But none of us want to see him become a stat man, getting his points for the sake of "looking good" to outsiders.

I like what I'm hearing:

His comfort, he said, will show in his more aggressive approach this season. It will show in his more outward emotional releases, adding that ``I’m not afraid to curse out Jameer, Dwight and Turk if they need it because I’m trying to make them better.’’ Mostly, the Magic will get the player they paid a whopping $118 million for this season, Lewis said.

``Last year was different for me because I was still fitting in with the guys, seeing how they like to play and what their personalities are,’’ he said. ``This year I’m comfortable with the guys, comfortable with the city and I’m settled in my house. I have to step my game up in certain situations. Big games and performing in those situations, that’s what they pay me for.’’

I like how he didn't come in and try to mess with what was already in place - instead, he learned his teammates' games while they had a chance to learn his. Now, he's ready to integrate himself even more into the offense.

[glennathan]

I could just imagine if Rashard gets a little more selfish he could probably go off for a 40 point game. HE hit over 30pts a couple of times last year and I know I would like to see him get the 40 mark a couple of times this year.

[Optimus_Steel]

Seems like a grossly exagerated headline by ESPN, poaching an article from Denton. I cant believe they charge for this crap and call it "insider".

[craig01]

The title is silly really.

[Max Power]

I'm all for Shard getting a little selfish on offense, there were plenty of games last season where I was like "ok, Hedo's thrown up enough bricks, lets give Shard the ball for a while." As long as he plays as good a defense as he did last season (granted he wasn't Bruce Bowen, but he played the best D of his career last season with us) I'll be cool.

[Force9024]

If Lewis can step up his game.. Than that's nothing but helping us.. He's a more dynamic scorer than Hedo IMO when his games on.. I'd love for both him and Dwight to average over 20+ppg. Sure Hedo's scoring numbers will go down, but both averaging over 20+ teams will be designed to try to stop both of them, and than Hedo and everyone else will get nice looks.. I would love for him to be selfish, perhaps than people will stop looking at what he got paid, and stop downplaying us all the time.. Although I like being the underdog going into the season..

[ivDT]

if lewis can get to the line more frequently then i'll gladly accept him taking a larger role in the offense.

shooting less than 4 FTAs a game is totally unacceptable.

[Bucs80]

I understand Lewis. But I'm not really for his offense now.

We can score over 100 Points anyday of the week.

I'm happy for him right now, but right now all seriously I ask of him to play good, and to be a complete player, like rebounding, passing.

But he can get to the FT line more. That would be a plus

[Catledge]

There is a big gap between "he felt the pressure" and "he couldn't handle the pressure." You don't get a nickname like Cold Blooded without performing under pressure.

Also, I think the term "assertive" is more appropriate than "selfish." It is not selfish for a player to accept his responsibility for helping the team win. It is only selfish if the player prioritizes his own stats/image over the team's chances of winning, or if a player refuses to accept his responsibility for caring his assigned load.

[MitchellUK]

Title is misleading. It isn't like Shard wilted or cracked under the weight of the contract. Yes, it was a large deal, he was overpaid, and it was constantly brought up by media and fans alike, but Lewis was excellent for Orlando last season. It wasn't like he signed it and then overnight became an inferior player. He was asked to do other things rather than score - namely defend some top quality forwards who almost always physically overmatched him. He played in an offense that mixed things up a lot and shared touches and shots, so naturally his ppg would take something of a hit. But forcing the offense to run through Lew just because he had the highest salary on the team would not have been of any benefit to the team as a whole, and certainly not to the individual development of particular players such as Dwight and Hedo. Shard did fine last season, and I think we all expect even better in the upcoming year.

[MagicMadness]

Title is misleading. It isn't like Shard wilted or cracked under the weight of the contract. Yes, it was a large deal, he was overpaid, and it was constantly brought up by media and fans alike, but Lewis was excellent for Orlando last season. It wasn't like he signed it and then overnight became an inferior player. He was asked to do other things rather than score - namely defend some top quality forwards who almost always physically overmatched him. He played in an offense that mixed things up a lot and shared touches and shots, so naturally his ppg would take something of a hit. But forcing the offense to run through Lew just because he had the highest salary on the team would not have been of any benefit to the team as a whole, and certainly not to the individual development of particular players such as Dwight and Hedo. Shard did fine last season, and I think we all expect even better in the upcoming year.

So simple, yet so difficult for media and outsiders to grasp...

He was overpaid because the market for him was there - not because the Magic thought he was going to all of a sudden become Kobe. We had to overpay to get another 20-point potential player.

Not only did we get scoring, but also a guy who was happy to do the things that go unnoticed to make sure the Magic were in contention all season long.

[realfung]

he is not a good leader

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

I love Rashard. He came in last season and basically became a role player for us. He always looked to Turk or Dwight, and just rolled with the offense. Yeah, and he still averaged over 18 per game. Pretty funny, so I could definitely see him being a lot better this year. We NEED to put him in the post more often, I know that.

[MitchellUK]

he is not a good leader

Depends how you look at it. Just because he is not extremely vocal and extroverted on court does not mean he is not a good leader - doing exactly what was asked of him by his coach for the good of the team, even though it was a move away from his natural game, makes him a fine leader by example.

[christian72589]

rashard lewis will be THE difference maker for us this year.... i noticed towards the end of the season last year that he has a beautiful finesse post game that was very effective a lot of the time... if he looks for his shot more this year, maybe a lineup on the floor where he is the number one option on offense... dude will put up 22 maybe 23 ppg with a few huge games.... im sure of it. He really has everything we need around dwight.

[drsd]

rashard lewis will be THE difference maker for us this year.... i noticed towards the end of the season last year that he has a beautiful finesse post game that was very effective a lot of the time... if he looks for his shot more this year, maybe a lineup on the floor where he is the number one option on offense... dude will put up 22 maybe 23 ppg with a few huge games.... im sure of it. He really has everything we need around dwight.

I agree. In particular, the improved SG core should free up more looks for Lewis. I expect Rashard to take over from Hedo the "Mr. 4th quarter" title.

[lovehoops01]

he is not a good leader

You mean like Artest?

Rashard did fine for the Magic last season. He was willing to play a role for the Magic -- and still average 19 ppg. There is something to be said for a guy who is willing to do what a team needs him to do to win. In some ways, Now that he feels more a part of the team in his second season, I think he'll do even more.