Lewis feels confident unique shot will fit in
Even though Rashard Lewis hadn’t played in nearly a week and hadn’t played at all in a Wizards uniform, every time he unleashed one of his distinct, overhead-release 3-pointers on Wednesday against Chicago, the Verizon Center crowd was certain the ball was destined for the bottom of the net.
Instead, all Lewis could do from long range in his Washington debut was clang the rim, missing all five of his 3-point attempts. But the Wizards (7-20) remain both patient and encouraged by the unique skill set he offers.
“I ain’t got a full practice in, so I got a little tired early,” Lewis said after the 87-80 loss to the Bulls, in which he finished with eight points, three rebounds and five fouls in 22 minutes. “I just felt a little out of rhythm. Hopefully that’ll all come over these next couple days, try to get some running in and some shots up.”
In replacing Gilbert Arenas, for whom he was swapped in last weekend’s trade with Orlando, Lewis is the latest addition to a Washington frontcourt that had been sorely lacking depth, counting on Andray Blatche as the only true offensive threat.
With the 6-foot-10 Lewis’s ability to play both forward positions — as well as a now healthy Josh Howard, who at 6-foot-7 can play forward in a smaller lineup or guard in a bigger one — Wizards coach Flip Saunders has a lot more pieces at his disposal.
“When I had [Kevin] Garnett and [Tom] Gugliotta [in Minnesota], I called them bastard forwards that they were really not a three and really not a four,” Saunders said. “They could play either position, and so what happens is when he plays the three, you’ve got a choice: You put a 6-5 guy on him or you put a 6-5 guy on Andray. You create matchups.”
But just as Lewis has never been an instinctive, physical rebounder — averaging 5.6 boards a game in his career — he doesn’t tend toward playground-style takeovers either, and his career 16.5 points a game have come mostly within the context of a larger system. He has a three-day Christmas break to immerse himself in his new playbook before the Wizards play again at San Antonio on Dec. 26.
“I’m a guy that likes to know all the positions from the one through the five even though I’m going to be playing the three and four,” Lewis said.
“I felt like an air-traffic controller trying to show him where to go in plays,” Saunders said of Lewis’ first game with the Wizards. “It’s tough for the other guys to play in that type of situation, so that’s the unfortunate thing. But he’s going to be OK for us.”
