Little Magic for High-Priced Rashard Lewis

Filed under: Magic, NBA Rumors

DENVER -- Two years ago, forward Rashard Lewis made the All-Star team and helped Orlando to the NBA Finals. He hasn't been the same since.



Lewis' scoring average dropped from 17.7 in 2008-09 to 14.1 last season. This season, it's down to 12.3, his lowest since 1999-2000, when he was barely out of his teens and in his second NBA year directly out of high school.



"To me, I think I'm playing fairly OK. I'm just not getting very many shots,'' Lewis said following a Magic practice at the Pepsi Center on Monday in preparation for Tuesday's game against Denver. "I think our team is so talented that (the shots) are so spread out. I think everybody is averaging around 10 shots. And to have a great game, you got to make nine or eight of them.''



Lewis, 31, hasn't had any great games lately. He's gone seven straight without scoring more than 15 points.



Then again, Lewis' average during that stretch has been 12.6 points per game, which means he's raised it. So, in other words, this is a long-term problem.



"He's had shots,'' Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of Lewis, whose 42.5 field-goal percentage is on pace to be the lowest since his rookie year of 1998-99. "He's just struggling right now to get the ball in the basket. ... Hopefully, 58 games to go, he'll have plenty of time to get it rolling.''

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/12/14/little-magic-for-high-priced-rashard-lewis/