The X Factor: Sonics' Lewis could benefit from effort to stop James
By ANGELO BRUSCAS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Rashard Lewis was the quiet man after winning the first round of the playoffs against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
Not speaking to reporters after practice on Thursday, and with his game a bit muted by the Kings, the soft-spoken All-Star forward is expected to make a much louder noise in the next round when the Sonics take on against the San Antonio Spurs.
Lewis averaged 16.4 points and 4.4 rebounds against the Kings. Those numbers were down from his regular-season averages of 20.5 points and 5.5 boards.
Much of that can be attributed to the post-play offensive contribution from center Jerome James against the Kings. But coach Nate McMillan knows Lewis has to re-establish his offense against the Spurs, who are bigger and play far tougher interior defense than the Kings.
What McMillan is guessing right now is how the Spurs will try to defend Lewis, something they haven't always done well in the past. Lewis scored 27 points in KeyArena the first time the two teams met in the regular season. The Sonics won 111-94.
"I have no idea how they will defend," McMillan said. "They can go any number of ways."
One of the possibilities would be to put 6-foot-6 guard Manu Ginobili on Lewis. The Argentine has a reputation for hard-nosed physical defense, a focal point in the Spurs' 4-1 series victory over the Denver Nuggets. McMillan also expects Lewis to be matched up at times with disruptive 6-7 guard/forward Bruce Bowen, who will largely be guarding Ray Allen. If Bowen does defend, Lewis might be able to post up more.
No question he'll face double teams throughout.
"We want to prepare for every scenario we can think of, which is single coverage, denying his catch, double-teaming with a big man, double-teaming with a guard," McMillan said. "We have seen most of the defenses that teams have thrown at us, so it won't be a major adjustment."
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich compares the 6-10, 215-pound Lewis to Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, who averaged 19.2 points against the Spurs.
"He's really versatile and tough on the block like Carmelo Anthony," Popovich said. "But he can be even more dangerous because he shoots the three well.
"You've got both worlds wrapped up in one guy."
The Sonics were 2-2 against the Spurs during the regular season, with Lewis missing the last game, a 89-76 Sonics loss in San Antonio on March 30. He had a bruised foot that caused him to miss eight games just before the playoffs. Lewis averaged 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in three games against the Spurs.
After scoring 18 points in the Game 1 win against the Kings, Lewis scored a total of only 21 the next two games. He rebounded with 19 and then 24 points in Games 4 and 5.
The Sonics adjusted well to Lewis' offensive struggles against the Kings, as James emerged as the team's second-leading scorer.
In 80 regular-season games, James averaged just 4.9 points and 3 boards per game. Against the Kings, however, the 7-1 center was a force at both ends of the court, averaging 17.2 points, a team-high 9.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots.
After the win over the Kings on Tuesday night, Lewis said he hoped to see the Spurs in the next round because he expected to get more shots, especially with Spurs big men, 6-11 Tim Duncan and 6-10 Nazr Mohammed, not allowing James as much opportunity to set up in the post.
James' success against the Kings could help open things up for Lewis.
"What Jerome is doing is going to do nothing but open it up for me, even Ray or anybody out on the floor," Lewis said. "This was just the first round, and as far as we want to go -- we might have a couple more rounds to play -- it's just the way the matchups are."
Against the Spurs, "maybe I'll be the one that's doing a lot more scoring," Lewis added. "It will be tougher for Jerome to score with Tim Duncan down on the block and Bruce Bowen guarding Ray, so it's just depending on the matchups of the team."
James doesn't mind giving up the scoring to Lewis if that's what it takes to consume the Spurs down low and make them work hard on defense.
"Rashard is a big part of this offense, and if they have to worry about me, that can only be a big help to him," James said.
P-I reporter Angelo Bruscas can be reached at 206-448-8010 or
[email protected]
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