Rashard Lewis will be suspended for the first 10 games of the 2009-10, though I should note the suspension takes effect as long as he would otherwise be eligible and physically able to play.
Lewis, the team's starting power forward, made the Eastern Conference all-star team last year and finished the 2008-09 regular season averaging 17.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
So, how will the Magic fare without him?
“Any time you’re missing an all-star player and a great offensive player like Rashard, it certainly hurts you," Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday. "We’re such a new team now that to say exactly what impact [it has] and who we play in place of him, that’s hard to say."
Lewis, the team's starting power forward, made the Eastern Conference all-star team last year and finished the 2008-09 regular season averaging 17.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
So, how will the Magic fare without him?
“Any time you’re missing an all-star player and a great offensive player like Rashard, it certainly hurts you," Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday. "We’re such a new team now that to say exactly what impact [it has] and who we play in place of him, that’s hard to say."
Even before this suspension was announced, Van Gundy said he would consider starting free-agent signee Brandon Bass at power forward and moving Lewis to the starting small-forward spot.
Now, with Lewis out, the Magic almost certainly will start Bass at the 4 and either Mickael Pietrus or Matt Barnes at the 3. That means the Magic could have as many as three players -- Bass, Barnes and shooting guard Vince Carter -- in the starting lineup on opening night who weren't a part of the team that reached the NBA Finals.
"You’re going to start now for sure two new people and maybe as many as three for the first 10 games of the year," Van Gundy said. "Like with anything bad that happens, and this is certainly something we didn’t want to happen, there’s always a silver lining. And the silver lining here will be that a lot of those new faces, pretty much all of them, will get a significant opportunity early in the year. I think right off the bat we’ll get a better indication of where we want to go in terms of lineups and rotations when Rashard gets back.”
There is another silver lining: The Magic's early season schedule is relatively soft. Seven of the first 10 games are against teams that posted losing records last season: New Jersey (two games), Detroit (two games), Toronto, Oklahoma City and Charlotte.
Half of the first 10 games are home games.
The ninth game of the suspension is a home game on Nov. 11 against LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Lewis' first game back with the team would be on Nov. 16, a home game against Charlotte.
How do you think the Magic will do in the first 10 games?
Now, with Lewis out, the Magic almost certainly will start Bass at the 4 and either Mickael Pietrus or Matt Barnes at the 3. That means the Magic could have as many as three players -- Bass, Barnes and shooting guard Vince Carter -- in the starting lineup on opening night who weren't a part of the team that reached the NBA Finals.
"You’re going to start now for sure two new people and maybe as many as three for the first 10 games of the year," Van Gundy said. "Like with anything bad that happens, and this is certainly something we didn’t want to happen, there’s always a silver lining. And the silver lining here will be that a lot of those new faces, pretty much all of them, will get a significant opportunity early in the year. I think right off the bat we’ll get a better indication of where we want to go in terms of lineups and rotations when Rashard gets back.”
There is another silver lining: The Magic's early season schedule is relatively soft. Seven of the first 10 games are against teams that posted losing records last season: New Jersey (two games), Detroit (two games), Toronto, Oklahoma City and Charlotte.
Half of the first 10 games are home games.
The ninth game of the suspension is a home game on Nov. 11 against LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Lewis' first game back with the team would be on Nov. 16, a home game against Charlotte.
How do you think the Magic will do in the first 10 games?
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