Dunking Rashard Lewis gets back on track against Suns – Orlando Magic BasketBlog – Orlando Sentinel
« Orlando Magic at Indiana Pacers, 7 p.m. | Main
| Orlando Magic and NBA News: Friday, Nov. 19 » Dunking Rashard Lewis gets back on track against Suns
Orlando Magic  posted by zach mccann on November, 19 2010 3:25 PM
Rashard Lewis scored 13 points in 34 minutes against the Suns Thursday night. (Jacob Langston/Orlando Sentinel)
Rashard Lewis has always said his favorite type of shot is the dunk, which is surprising since he’s known for his feathery jump-shot and finesse game around the basket. A dunk boosts a player’s adrenaline and gets the crowd into the game, he says, so he’d rather slam one home than sink a jumper. Perhaps that’s why Lewis played so well Thursday night — he dunked not once but twice in the Magic’s blowout win over the Phoenix Suns. Lewis finished with 13 points, but it felt like 30 with the way he’s been playing lately. In the Magic’s previous three games, Lewis shot 28.5 percent from the field and averaged 7.7 points per game. Lewis shot 6-of-9 on Thursday night, a welcomed efficient performance from the 31-year-old. “I really wanted to get myself going, get myself into a rhythm,” he said. “I got me a couple dunks, I hit a three, got a couple postups. I just felt good tonight.”
It’s the first time he’s really felt good after a game since scoring 22 points against Charlotte in on Nov. 6. Since then, Lewis has found himself under consistent scrutiny as Magic fans suffered through his shooting slump as badly as he did. As you’d expect when Lewis performs poorly, his 7-year, $118 million dollar contract became a popular topic of conversation. It’s kind funny how Lewis’ shooting woes trickle down to fan complaints about GM Otis Smith (how could you sign Lewis to that contract!?), coach Stan Van Gundy (take him out already!) and point guard Jameer Nelson (we need a pass-first point guard who can get him involved!). No matter what happens this season, the Magic need more from Lewis. There’s no question about that. But the solution isn’t to bench him and his enormous contract. The best-case scenario for the Magic is for Lewis to have more games like Thursday night’s.
File under: Jameer Nelson,Orlando Magic,Otis Smith,Phoenix Suns,Rashard Lewis,Stan Van Gundy,Zach McCann Comments
For a guy making over 20 million, his stats are pathetic. if your making that much you shouldn’t “let the game come to you.” You have to take over Rashard
Friday, November 19, 2010 at 6:03 PM	bench him ,one game against a weak middle team, please even bass plays better for 4 million dollars of the bench ,, fire otis
Friday, November 19, 2010 at 7:56 PM	Go Lewis! I like you regardless of a few games or even more lol
Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 1:50 AM	Rashard
Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 8:22 AM	I agree with t-mac…I think people need to start putting pressure on Lewis to be more aggressive the same way they did with Dwight. Rashard needs to keep asking for the ball and get angry when he doesn’t get it, then use that fire on the defensive end. Rashard needs to post up anytime Dwight isn’t on the floor, especially when he’s playing the 3. We have so many players that can post up like Dwight, VC, Lewis, Bass, and Q, and on any given night any one of those can draw double teams to start the open 3 parade. Whoever’s not making their 3’s should be the one posting up. Look how Q started shooting the 3 ball well after he had a couple of easy post ups against phoenix…Against teams like Miami and Boston though, who have good wing defenders, then we should play more pick and roll.
Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 11:14 AM	Dunk away, Rashard! Get mad, do what ever it takes. Just get into a scoring rhythm. You are obviously here to stay and I”m sure you are getting tired of being bashed.
Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 12:50 PM	But against a defensive team like the Celtics ??????????
Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 4:52 PM	IT was good to see the Magic give the Suns a taste of their own, dunk-happy, transition medicine. My have things changed since Amare bounced.
Posted by: ballhyped	|
Sunday, November 21, 2010 at 8:45 PM	The comments are closed. NBA highlights	AboutThe Magic BasketBlog's contributors are Magic beat writer Josh Robbins and Magic insider Brian Schmitz.