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OT What happened to Rashard Lewis?

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OT What happened to Rashard Lewis? 

Post#1 » by wiff » Sat Feb 9, 2008 8:11 pm

Here he was last year killing it. Putting together one of his best seasons ever.

Brought in 22.4pts and 6.6rebs last season.

He gets the freakin huge payday, which I think it's safe to say nobody thought he was worth that kind of money. But good for him none the less.

I'm looking at his situation thinking with Howard he should have more open looks and possibly more shots too because Howard doesn't really have a large offensive arsenal yet.

I'm expecting the guy to go off for 26pts a night and this season his numbers have regressed.

18.2pts, 5.1rebs 2.4dimes.

By the way Kevin Durant numbers 19.4pts, 4.1rebs and 2.3dimes.

And the only explaination I can think of is, he must wear himself out when he goes home at night because he has to wade through all the money he has laying around.

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Post#2 » by FARMERMAN10 » Sat Feb 9, 2008 8:20 pm

He really has disappeared... shows what an idiotic signing that was.


Have fun with that albatross killing your cap for the next half decade +
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Post#3 » by BenjaminH » Sat Feb 9, 2008 8:23 pm

I agree, but here is another reason:

I think a lot of it has to do with Hedo Turkoglu being so good. Turkoglu is the second best player on the Magic. He is, by far, the best play-maker on the Magic. He is a better rebounder than Lewis. Turkoglu and Lewis are also about equally good scorers. Turkoglu is almost as good at shooter, but he is better driving. Lewis has a better post-up game, but obviously Howard is the first option there.

But, to be fair to Lewis, I don't think that he's just slacking off because he got paid. He's still contributing at a semi-high level - the way the tier right below all-star level usually contributes.
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Post#4 » by Dick Tate » Sat Feb 9, 2008 8:43 pm

I have a hard time believing the Magic have many complaints about anything right now. I too thought Lewis would be scoring around 26/gm this season, however, fitting in and making a team a winner is what it's all about (see Ray Allen). Rashard's presense has opened up the floor for Howard and as Ben said, has helped elevate Hedo's game to another level. If Turkoglu went down with an injury, I think you'd see Rashard's scoring rise quite dramatically.
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Post#5 » by Sweezo » Sat Feb 9, 2008 8:48 pm

Dick Tate wrote:I have a hard time believing the Magic have many complaints about anything right now. I too thought Lewis would be scoring around 26/gm this season, however, fitting in and making a team a winner is what it's all about (see Ray Allen). Rashard's presense has opened up the floor for Howard and as Ben said, has helped elevate Hedo's game to another level. If Turkoglu went down with an injury, I think you'd see Rashard's scoring rise quite dramatically.


Yeah, that's the same thing I was thinking too. It certainly isn't because of any drop in minutes as he's basically playing the same amount of minutes this year that he did last year. He plays for a team now that has more than two scorers, so he doesn't have to try and fill up the stat sheet in order to win.
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Post#6 » by BenjaminH » Sat Feb 9, 2008 8:56 pm

I agree that Lewis is playing well enough and has helped the Magic, but I don't think there is a really strong connection between Turkoglu and Lewis' production. Lewis spreads the floor, but that helps Howard, not Turkoglu. Turkoglu is better this season, in my estimation, because he is facilitating the offense very well. So, if he were injured, Lewis would actually play worse, I think. Turkoglu rarely takes looks away from Lewis, after all. He actually assists Lewis' scoring more than anyone. Also, if Turkoglu were injured, Cook would probably start, and Lewis would then move to SF. In that case, the floor would not be spread by Lewis at PF. (Sure, it would be spread by Cook at PF, but that is a significant downgrade, and you lose the distributor.) The Magic is okay at SG, rotating in Bogans and Evans as decent defenders/scorers. Yeah, they could probably improve a little there. But, where I think they can and should really improve is at PG. That would help Lewis' game the most.

EDIT: I was referring to this quote by Dick:

If Turkoglu went down with an injury, I think you'd see Rashard's scoring rise quite dramatically.


I think a Turkoglu injury will hurt Lewis' scoring. But, at the same time, I agree with Sweezo. Rashard's scoring is down because he plays on a team with two scorers. In any case, Orlando shouldn't be disappointed.
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Post#7 » by Sweezo » Sat Feb 9, 2008 9:06 pm

Stilll...there is an evident drop in FG% this season...having other scorers on the team shouldn't mean he misses more shots.
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Post#8 » by D5150 » Sat Feb 9, 2008 9:13 pm

is he taking fewer shots this year? all of his numbers are down except for ft%, steals per, and assists per. maybe he is just playing on a more ballanced team. but yeah, the fg%, that is hard to explain.
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Post#9 » by Sweezo » Sat Feb 9, 2008 9:44 pm

D5150 wrote:is he taking fewer shots this year? all of his numbers are down except for ft%, steals per, and assists per. maybe he is just playing on a more ballanced team. but yeah, the fg%, that is hard to explain.


Well, since you asked...

Rashard had 16.9 FGA last season, compared to 14.5 FGA this season.. If you look at those numbers, you'll also see a nearly 10% jump in assisted shots this season compared to last year. Perhaps Rashard's just taking a back seat more this season, and perhaps not having to create his shots as much he's resorted to being a catch and shoot jump shooter?
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Post#10 » by Dick Tate » Sat Feb 9, 2008 9:49 pm

Also notice that half of Rashard's shots are coming from beyond the arc this season. That helps explain the drop in overall FG%.
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Post#11 » by AbdicatedReign » Sat Feb 9, 2008 10:00 pm

Dick Tate wrote:Also notice that half of Rashard's shots are coming from beyond the arc this season. That helps explain the drop in overall FG%.


Yup. It's pretty straightforward. Even though he's shooting much worse from the field this year than last (43% v. 46%) his eFG%s are very close (52.8 v. 53.6). The fact that he's shooting 38.5% on his ridiculous amount of 3PAs this year (7.0 per game, 48% of his total attempts) are keeping his effective field goal percentage around what it was last year. So, his scoring dip can be traced back to two main(interrelated) factors: he's getting to the line less this year (a which hurts his scoring average), and he's taking lower percentage shots at a higher rate while taking less shots overall.
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Post#12 » by D5150 » Sat Feb 9, 2008 10:22 pm

sweezo, dick, reign......that is pretty soild analysis. it is very interesting to see what players do when they move from one team to the next. the numbers dont always translate do they? again, way to crunch the numbers guys.
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Post#13 » by Sweezo » Sat Feb 9, 2008 10:30 pm

So it sounds like they've killed of Rashard's post game which is what made him a versatile threat, probably because they already have a hell of a post threat down low in Dwight Howard.

To be blunt, I'm guessing Rashard quite enjoys making a ****load of money, not having to carry the load, playing for a winning team, and not having to risk injury by having to play in the post and draw contact as much. He's never been the type of player who's really thrived off contact anyway...
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Post#14 » by Sockin'Foes » Sat Feb 9, 2008 10:50 pm

BenjaminH wrote: Lewis spreads the floor, but that helps Howard, not Turkoglu.


Spreading the floor helps everyone score... and it gives your playmaker room to maneuver.
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Post#15 » by AbdicatedReign » Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:19 am

Sweezo wrote:To be blunt, I'm guessing Rashard quite enjoys making a ****load of money, not having to carry the load, playing for a winning team, and not having to risk injury by having to play in the post and draw contact as much. He's never been the type of player who's really thrived off contact anyway...


Pretty much. He's a max money guy in a specialist's role.
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Post#16 » by djthesonicsfan » Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:21 am

Ya, pretty much.

As much as would have liked to keep him, it was the right thing to let him go.

And at two 1st round picks, plus whatever we get for K Thomas, that decision didn't work out too bad.
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Post#17 » by BenjaminH » Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:24 am

You're right, Socking Foes. I meant that it helps Howard more than Turkoglu. My point was that Lewis is not responsible for Turkoglu's breakout year. More than anything, Leis helps Turkoglu by giving him someone to assist to, which he does by hanging out by the three point line.
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Post#18 » by Edrock » Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:25 pm

Magic fan here...
You guys have given a very interesting analysis (both statistically & otherwise) for a player you're much more familiar with than I am... Having watched Rashard for this half season I can give SOME indicators about what may be the difference in production. Clearly moving from 1st option to 3rd option (w/Dwight & Hedo being #2) has something to do with it. Also playing a bit out of position @ the 4 may also have be causing a difference in his efficiency. A good example of this was in last week's game against the Mavericks. He was KILLING himself defenisvely trying to guard Dirk and he was doing a commendable job against him. In fact the Mavs didn't make their run until Rashard went to the bench. His defense wouldn't necessarily show up on the box score, but I think he did a fantastic job against a very talented offensive player. I would like to see the Magic go to him more in the post. Perhaps run him w/the 2nd unit like BOS does w/Paul Pierce, and let him be the 1st option on offense w/the 2nd unit.
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Post#19 » by BenjaminH » Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:58 am

Whenever I watch the Magic, I get the impression that Lewis is the second option and Turkoglu is the third. Turkoglu usually looks to pass it to Lewis (or the other wing). Both Turkoglu and Lewis do the occasional isolation play. But, when Turkoglu does it, it is usually because it is late in the clock or because he has a mismatch. Lewis does so, often, unsolicited. I guess you could argue that Turkoglu is the second option because he has more time with the ball, but I think that is simply because he is the best distributor.

In any case, correct me if I'm wrong. I'm sure you've seen more Magic games.
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Post#20 » by wiff » Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:32 pm

Edrock wrote:Magic fan here...
You guys have given a very interesting analysis (both statistically & otherwise) for a player you're much more familiar with than I am... Having watched Rashard for this half season I can give SOME indicators about what may be the difference in production. Clearly moving from 1st option to 3rd option (w/Dwight & Hedo being #2) has something to do with it. Also playing a bit out of position @ the 4 may also have be causing a difference in his efficiency. A good example of this was in last week's game against the Mavericks. He was KILLING himself defenisvely trying to guard Dirk and he was doing a commendable job against him. In fact the Mavs didn't make their run until Rashard went to the bench. His defense wouldn't necessarily show up on the box score, but I think he did a fantastic job against a very talented offensive player. I would like to see the Magic go to him more in the post. Perhaps run him w/the 2nd unit like BOS does w/Paul Pierce, and let him be the 1st option on offense w/the 2nd unit.


Obviously Lewis isn't known for great defense, or even good defense.

But last season he really worked on it. Also Twice in two weeks Rashard out played KG head to head. Some of it probably had to do with KG's situation, some of it might had something to do with Ricky Davis being an idiot and not understanding KG has a much better shot at scoring than Ricky trying a 20ft fade away.

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