Rashard Lewis

[fishercob]

Dude deserves his own thread. Welcome to DC!

Mayhaps we have our 2011'12 6MOY? Here's the rotation I'd like to see for the rest of the year, once Jimmy is back healthy:

Wall (35) / Kirk (13)
Young (33) Kirk (10) Josh (5)
Josh (25) Lewis (23)
Dray (32) Booker (9) Lewis (7)
McGee (27) Seraphin (12) Neck (9)

Next in line are Thornton, Gee, Martin, Yi, Hamady. Hopefully spot minutes for all.

Booker and Lewis are actually a good pair of backup forwards because Booker can do OK with quicker 3's that Lewis has trouble with. Throw Seraphin in the mix and that's a nice little backup front court.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Dude deserves his own thread. Welcome to DC!

Mayhaps we have our 2011'12 6MOY? Here's the rotation I'd like to see for the rest of the year, once Jimmy is back healthy:

Wall (35) / Kirk (13)
Young (33) Kirk (10) Josh (5)
Josh (25) Lewis (23)
Dray (32) Booker (9) Lewis (7)
McGee (27) Seraphin (12) Neck (9)

Next in line are Thornton, Gee, Martin, Yi, Hamady. Hopefully spot minutes for all.

Booker and Lewis are actually a good pair of backup forwards because Booker can do OK with quicker 3's that Lewis has trouble with. Throw Seraphin in the mix and that's a nice little backup front court.

I agree. In the short term, we ought to be better, more balanced. Call me crazy, but this team, even given the hole we are in, could compete for one of the final two spots in the playoffs.

[fishercob]

Dude deserves his own thread. Welcome to DC!

Mayhaps we have our 2011'12 6MOY? Here's the rotation I'd like to see for the rest of the year, once Jimmy is back healthy:

Wall (35) / Kirk (13)
Young (33) Kirk (10) Josh (5)
Josh (25) Lewis (23)
Dray (32) Booker (9) Lewis (7)
McGee (27) Seraphin (12) Neck (9)

Next in line are Thornton, Gee, Martin, Yi, Hamady. Hopefully spot minutes for all.

Booker and Lewis are actually a good pair of backup forwards because Booker can do OK with quicker 3's that Lewis has trouble with. Throw Seraphin in the mix and that's a nice little backup front court.

I agree. In the short term, we ought to be better, more balanced. Call me crazy, but this team, even given the hole we are in, could compete for one of the final two spots in the playoffs.

Yeah, I had forgotten how good Josh Howard was. He really impressed me on Saturday. Going from a SF rotation of Thornton/Gee/Martin to Josh/Lewis is going to win us some games. At the end of the day, I still expect us to lose a lot, but we'll be watchable.

[Dat2U]

I don't think Lewis is capable of guarding SFs anymore but I guess we'll see. IMO we just landed Antawn Jamison's replacement as a stretch four. With less rebounding and offensive efficiency of course.

[fishercob]

I don't think Lewis is capable of guarding SFs anymore but I guess we'll see. IMO we just landed Antawn Jamison's replacement as a stretch four. With less rebounding and offensive efficiency of course.

Perhaps. A couple notes of hope though

1) Pairing him with Booker could help ease his burden on D. He'll get eaten alive by Gerald Wallace or Melo, but he'll be OK with the Mike Dunleavys, Travis Outlaws and Shane Battiers of the league.

2) He's not going to start or have Jamison's sense of entitlement at the 4. The offense isn't going to go through him.

Plus, having him as an option at the 4 will allow FLip to limit Dray's minutes while he's banged up -- maybe they'll even sit him down for a couple weeks so he can get healthy/in shape.

He's not going to drag this team down, Dat.

[WeAreVenom]

Hey guys, a Suns poster came to our board and gave us a rundown on Earl Clark, so I thought I'd do the same for you.

First off, Rashard really isn't as bad as everyone has been making him out to be, he just isn't worth his contract (obviously).

His shooting has been down the last two year because of the lack of a proper playmaker in our team after Hedo's departure. You guys have a great one, so I expect that part to improve.

Also, he was playing out of his position, so he routinely took beatings in the post playing against guys taller and bulkier than him. He is great at posting up other SF's though, and rarely bites on their pump fakes due to him being so tall that he can contest most of their shots without jumping. We have all been clamoring for SVG to move him to SF for a while, now, but he didn't want to dump his Stretch 4 system. He's always done well on Pierce.

He's not very fast, so don't expect a whole lot of driving. He's clutch as all hell, though. So if you need a guy to take the last shot, and he ends up being the one to do it, rest assured.

Short summary: Underrated (Mainly due to his contract), clutch, great lockeroom guy, can be a vocal leader at times, won't mind sacrificing shots/pt for someone else to get their's if it's for the betterment of the team, great at posting up, not fast, great guy.

Magic fans will surely miss him.

[fishercob]

Thanks zORi!!!

Psyched to get him to DC.

[nate33]

Short summary: Underrated (Mainly due to his contract), clutch, great lockeroom guy, can be a vocal leader at times, won't mind sacrificing shots/pt for someone else to get their's if it's for the betterment of the team, great at posting up, not fast, great guy.

I think this is a part that has been overlooked. Lewis has always been a good guy in the locker room. The guy wants to win. I remember him being a vocal leader in Seattle too. This guy has been a starter for a perennial contender. He can't be THAT bad.

The other thing about Lewis is that he is most definitely NOT an inefficient scorer. It's true that he's a terrible rebounder and not much of a defender, but he can score efficiently. His TS% in the last three seasons has been .591, .580 and .573 respectively. For comparison, the best TS% Jamison ever posted in a Wizards uniform was .549.

My one concern is that Lewis is playing dramatically worse this year - posting a TS% of just .524. I'd like to know why. On the upside, he is still nailing three's at a 37% clip. (He shot 40% in each of the last 3 seasons.)

[miller31time]

Appreciate the analysis, zORi.

Fish, the one disagreement I have with your depth chart is that I think Thornton will get a bigger role than "spot minute player". I see Lewis taking most of Booker's minutes at the PF spot and getting fewer than you have him accounting for at small forward (not that I agree with this philosophy - just what I see Flip going to). Thornton will end up at about 12-15mpg.

Regarding Lewis, I really do think he'll be decent for us. Keep in mind, Dat, Jamison couldn't guard his own shadow, much less defend any particular position even adequately. Lewis can at least check some small forwards and not embarrass himself in the process. He's much longer and more athletic than Antawn so the defensive comparisons aren't the most apt in my opinion. On offense, Jamison was a pretty good player who was a bit over-utilized and (as Fish referred to) had a sense of entitlement Shard doesn't. Otherwise, he's a stretch four who'll play about 25-30mpg and give Wall some space to drive and either kick out or finish.

[WeAreVenom]

No problem, fishercob.

I'm sad to see him go, but I'm happy that he's finally with a playmaker that can do him justice, and back to his rightful position.

Short summary: Underrated (Mainly due to his contract), clutch, great lockeroom guy, can be a vocal leader at times, won't mind sacrificing shots/pt for someone else to get their's if it's for the betterment of the team, great at posting up, not fast, great guy.

I think this is a part that has been overlooked. Lewis has always been a good guy in the locker room. The guy wants to win. I remember him being a vocal leader in Seattle too. This guy has been a starter for a perennial contender. He can't be THAT bad.

The other thing about Lewis is that he is most definitely NOT an inefficient scorer. It's true that he's a terrible rebounder and not much of a defender, but he can score efficiently. His TS% in the last three seasons has been .591, .580 and .573 respectively. For comparison, the best TS% Jamison ever posted in a Wizards uniform was .549.

My one concern is that Lewis is playing dramatically worse this year - posting a TS% of just .524. I'd like to know why. On the upside, he is still nailing three's at a 37% clip. (He shot 40% in each of the last 3 seasons.)

I honestly have no idea. We were all figuring that he might just be in a slump, we didn't know, though. Some of us think he's done, most of us don't, though.

But yeah, he's definitely great as far as a locker room presence. He's all about sacrificing and checking ego's as long as it means winning. SVG and Otis both stated in our press conference that he was the hardest one to let go.

[Hoopalotta]

So basically, what I make of this is that he might not in fact be a Bratislavan sheepdog and it could be that we'll have to stop calling him Shart. I have watched a few Magic games this year, but I haven't been paying him much attention to him in particular (he's been very passive is about all I can recall)

FWIW, it seems he's been playing about 12 minutes a game at small forward according to 82 games, but not doing well in those stretches. Hopefully the whole post up/Wall passes could work that out as it's loads better for developmental purposes to have him at the 3.

[fishercob]

Appreciate the analysis, zORi.

Fish, the one disagreement I have with your depth chart is that I think Thornton will get a bigger role than "spot minute player". I see Lewis taking most of Booker's minutes at the PF spot and getting fewer than you have him accounting for at small forward (not that I agree with this philosophy - just what I see Flip going to). Thornton will end up at about 12-15mpg.

To be clear, that was what I'd like to see, not what I expect. I expect to be pretty irritated when Thornton is playing minutes that Booker could.

[nate33]

Appreciate the analysis, zORi.

Fish, the one disagreement I have with your depth chart is that I think Thornton will get a bigger role than "spot minute player". I see Lewis taking most of Booker's minutes at the PF spot and getting fewer than you have him accounting for at small forward (not that I agree with this philosophy - just what I see Flip going to). Thornton will end up at about 12-15mpg.

To be clear, that was what I'd like to see, not what I expect. I expect to be pretty irritated when Thornton is playing minutes that Booker could.

Lewis is a legit, starting-caliber NBA player (assuming he hasn't declined dramatically from last year). Even he has declined from last year and his mediocre performance so far this year is all he has left, he's still a rotation-caliber NBA player. Flip is going to want to get him into the ball game for at least 25 minutes a night - and he should. Lewis is going to take his minutes from either Booker or Thornton - depending on which position he handles better. I'd prefer that he take them from Thornton, but it's really up to Lewis. Can he still play SF or not?

[verbal8]

Shart does give the Wizards what they were hopeful that Yi could develop into. If Josh Howard is solid and Blatche picks up his play a little, the forward positions actually look pretty decent. It also hopefully means the end of the Yi experiment and a player that compliments Booker or Seraphin pretty well.

[nate33]

I think this is the default rotation that Flip is going to gravitate to.

PG Wall/Hinrich
SG Young/Hinrich
SF Howard/Lewis
PF Blatche/Lewis
C McGee/Armstrong

It's tough to be sure who will start between Hinrich and Young, and between Lewis and Howard, but the basic blueprint is here. There will be a few extra minutes here and there when guys are hurt, in foul trouble, or just playing terribly, but not many. Booker, Seraphin and Armstrong will have to fight for scraps.

Frankly, I don't mind that rotation that much. I never thought that forcefeeding minutes to rookies helps them develop all that much faster, so I wouldn't sweat that Booker and Seraphin ride the pine. Booker will probably get a few minutes on nights when an injection of energy is needed. Seraphin will play when McGee can't handle the strength of physical center.

[LyricalRico]

I still say we should go this route:

Blatche/McGee
Lewis/Booker
Howard/Thornton
Young/Hinrich
Wall/Hinrich

The starters are lacking on the boards, but very versatile offensively and pretty solid on defense. I also like that bench as an energy/hustle unit.

[nate33]

I still say we should go this route:

Blatche/McGee
Lewis/Booker
Howard/Thornton
Young/Hinrich
Wall/Hinrich

The starters are lacking on the boards, but very versatile offensively and pretty solid on defense. I also like that bench as an energy/hustle unit.

I hate starting with a no-D no-rebound lineup. I agree that that lineup is our most potent lineup offensively, and it's something we may see quite often in crunch time; but I wouldn't start it. The other issue is that with all of our offense in the starting lineup, we're not going to have much firepower coming off the bench.

[WeAreVenom]

So basically, what I make of this is that he might not in fact be a Bratislavan sheepdog and it could be that we'll have to stop calling him Shart. I have watched a few Magic games this year, but I haven't been paying him much attention to him in particular (he's been very passive is about all I can recall)

FWIW, it seems he's been playing about 12 minutes a game at small forward according to 82 games, but not doing well in those stretches. Hopefully the whole post up/Wall passes could work that out as it's loads better for developmental purposes to have him at the 3.

I certainly hope so, I've always hated that name.

Even when he started off so poorly this season, I refused to call him that. He's also had a few 20+ pt games, I hope he finds his rhythm back.

[507Mack]

So basically, what I make of this is that he might not in fact be a Bratislavan sheepdog and it could be that we'll have to stop calling him Shart. I have watched a few Magic games this year, but I haven't been paying him much attention to him in particular (he's been very passive is about all I can recall)

FWIW, it seems he's been playing about 12 minutes a game at small forward according to 82 games, but not doing well in those stretches. Hopefully the whole post up/Wall passes could work that out as it's loads better for developmental purposes to have him at the 3.

I certainly hope so, I've always hated that name.

Even when he started off so poorly this season, I refused to call him that. He's also had a few 20+ pt games, I hope he finds his rhythm back.

He can be a 12-time all-star, and I would still call him Shart. Don't blame him, blame his mom. I think he'll do well here, especially if he gets touches in the post at the 3.

[nate33]

I can't help it, I think Shart is a really funny nickname.