It's not an elbow, it's a . . . viral infection? (Rashard Lewis)

[MattD]

I don't see how it can possibly benefit the Magic for him to come out with this now, right before an elimination game -- it's basically giving the team an excuse to lose before they've even played the game.

I can see Rashard talking about it privately with SVG in order to adjust rotations and minutes, to give his team the best chance to win.  But if you want to admit publicly that it impacted your play during the series, wait until after the series is over.

[SamuelAdams]

Here is the Orlando Sentinel story.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2010/05/rashard-lewis-expects-to-receive-iv-fluids-before-game-5-tonight.html

The fan comments are pretty funny.

[Chris]

I am sure Sheed is somehow behind this. 

[drza44]

I think the problem that I have with the whole thing is that he has played 43, 41, and 42 minutes in the three games this series that weren't blowouts.  There have only been a handful of times this whole season when Lewis has played that much. 

So I have to ask myself, if he were really suffering from a debilitating virus that cripples his ability to produce...why on earth would he be playing that much?  He made a comment about dragging himself out there to play, but you don't drag yourself to a consistent 42 minutes a game.  And if it's the illness that has him playing so poorly, wouldn't Van Gundy have realized that and subbed him?  It just seems fishy to me.

[Who]

It is Vince Carter's + Jameer Nelson's inability to create shot opportunities for Lewis and the rest of the supporting cast than is making Rashard Lewis play so poorly offensively.

[papa shuttlesworth]

I've heard of Vince Carter being a locker room cancer, but I guess he could be considered a virus too.

[Chris]

It is Vince Carter's + Jameer Nelson's inability to create shot opportunities for Lewis and the rest of the supporting cast than is making Rashard Lewis play so poorly offensively.

While I think that is partly true, it is not a good enough excuse.  Lewis is an excellent athlete, and given KG's loss of a step, he should be able to get past him consistently(just like Jamison did last series).  He has not even tried to create his own shot, and I don't think he has tried to post up even once, even when Davis (who he killed in the post last year) was covering him. 

Lewis has been an abomination this series, and he should feel lucky that Carter has completely laid down, or else he would be getting it even worse.

[Fafnir]

he should feel lucky that Carter has completely laid down, or else he would be getting it even worse.

Dirty!

[RAcker]

Well, Rashard, RAcker has a fever. One of my symtoms is an overwhelming urge to kick your butt tonight.

[Who]

It is Vince Carter's + Jameer Nelson's inability to create shot opportunities for Lewis and the rest of the supporting cast than is making Rashard Lewis play so poorly offensively.

While I think that is partly true, it is not a good enough excuse.  Lewis is an excellent athlete, and given KG's loss of a step, he should be able to get past him consistently(just like Jamison did last series).  He has not even tried to create his own shot, and I don't think he has tried to post up even once, even when Davis (who he killed in the post last year) was covering him. 

Lewis has been an abomination this series, and he should feel lucky that Carter has completely laid down, or else he would be getting it even worse.

Lewis hasn't been that type of scorer while with the Magic. He was back in the day with the Sonics but not with the Magic and his role offensively has become increasingly marginalized with each passing year.

Lewis relies on ball movement in the same way Ray Allen relies on it with the Celtics. Take that away from either player and they are not able to be effective scorers. They need others to serve up their shot attempts. And, Ray is a bit better because his movement without the ball makes him less reliant than Lewis is.

No penetration = no ball movement = no scoring from Lewis.

The reason Lewis' scoring has been down all season long is the Magic's decline as a passing team as they've switched from Hedo Turkoglu to Vince Carter. They aren't as good as moving the ball as they once where and Vince hasn't been anywhere near as effective as Turkoglu was in the pick and roll which was/is the staple of Orlando's offense.

[Brendan]

It is Vince Carter's + Jameer Nelson's inability to create shot opportunities for Lewis and the rest of the supporting cast than is making Rashard Lewis play so poorly offensively.

While I think that is partly true, it is not a good enough excuse.  Lewis is an excellent athlete, and given KG's loss of a step, he should be able to get past him consistently(just like Jamison did last series).  He has not even tried to create his own shot, and I don't think he has tried to post up even once, even when Davis (who he killed in the post last year) was covering him. 

Lewis has been an abomination this series, and he should feel lucky that Carter has completely laid down, or else he would be getting it even worse.

Lewis hasn't been that type of scorer while with the Magic. He was back in the day with the Sonics but not with the Magic and his role offensively has become increasingly marginalized with each passing year.

Lewis relies on ball movement in the same way Ray Allen relies on it with the Celtics. Take that away from either player and they are not able to be effective scorers. They need others to serve up their shot attempts. And, Ray is a bit better because his movement without the ball makes him less reliant than Lewis is.

No penetration = no ball movement = no scoring from Lewis.

The reason Lewis' scoring has been down all season long is the Magic's decline as a passing team as they've switched from Hedo Turkoglu to Vince Carter. They aren't as good as moving the ball as they once where and Vince hasn't been anywhere near as effective as Turkoglu was in the pick and roll which was/is the staple of Orlando's offense.

I don't think that excuses Rashard. He's being paid to be an elite scorer and difference maker. He's been marginalized because he allows it and embraces it. Ray handled the ball a lot before coming to the C's and he changed his game a ton in 2008 to be more of a run around guy. Rashard is sitting back and cashing max money on easy street.

[Fafnir]

It is Vince Carter's + Jameer Nelson's inability to create shot opportunities for Lewis and the rest of the supporting cast than is making Rashard Lewis play so poorly offensively.

While I think that is partly true, it is not a good enough excuse.  Lewis is an excellent athlete, and given KG's loss of a step, he should be able to get past him consistently(just like Jamison did last series).  He has not even tried to create his own shot, and I don't think he has tried to post up even once, even when Davis (who he killed in the post last year) was covering him. 

Lewis has been an abomination this series, and he should feel lucky that Carter has completely laid down, or else he would be getting it even worse.

Lewis hasn't been that type of scorer while with the Magic. He was back in the day with the Sonics but not with the Magic and his role offensively has become increasingly marginalized with each passing year.

Lewis relies on ball movement in the same way Ray Allen relies on it with the Celtics. Take that away from either player and they are not able to be effective scorers. They need others to serve up their shot attempts. And, Ray is a bit better because his movement without the ball makes him less reliant than Lewis is.

No penetration = no ball movement = no scoring from Lewis.

The reason Lewis' scoring has been down all season long is the Magic's decline as a passing team as they've switched from Hedo Turkoglu to Vince Carter. They aren't as good as moving the ball as they once where and Vince hasn't been anywhere near as effective as Turkoglu was in the pick and roll which was/is the staple of Orlando's offense.

I don't think that excuses Rashard. He's being paid to be an elite scorer and difference maker. He's been marginalized because he allows it and embraces it. Ray handled the ball a lot before coming to the C's and he changed his game a ton in 2008 to be more of a run around guy. Rashard is sitting back and cashing max money on easy street.

You don't think Rashard was asked to make similar sacrifices for the team?

I do.

I'm not defending his contract, but your logic applies to Ray. He's being paid more than LeBron after all!

[misha]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mu8MrCR5pQ
 

[twinbree]

This series started a week and a half ago and you mean to tell me he's had a virus the "whole series" and yet has managed to play the kind of minutes he's playing.  What kind of viral infection is this? And it better not be contagious.