Rashard Lewis has pretty much disappeared for the Orlando Magic in the first two games against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals and it is a big reason why the Magic have found themselves down 0-2 in the series.  Lewis, who is the highest paid player on the Magic and one of the highest paid players in the entire league, only has 11 total points through the first two games.  Lewis isn’t doing much of anything for the Magic despite playing about 42 minutes per game so far in the series.  In the two games he has averaged just 5.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3 assists.  There have been times were Glenn “Big Baby” Davis has been switched on to Lewis defensively, and Lewis has not taken advantage.  There is no way “Big Baby” Davis can guard Lewis, so I’m not sure why he didn’t demand the ball in those situations.  Also, Lewis has lacked an intensity that is needed in the playoffs.  When he is not getting the shots he wants, or his shots aren’t falling, his body language shows it and he carries that attitude to the defensive end.  Even if Lewis doesn’t start to score the ball more, he still can contribute by attacking the boards and giving the Magic everything he has on defense.  Lewis has yet to do any of that, and if he isn’t giving the Magic 15-20 points than he needs to contribute in other ways.  If he continues to play like he has in the first two games coach Van Gundy needs to think about giving Pietrus and Barnes more minutes.

Starting “power” forward Rashard Lewis just isn’t playing up to his ability this season. Lewis has played in 67 games (all starts) for the Magic this season and he is averaging 33.3 minutes, 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. If the Magic are going to make a serious run for the NBA Title this season they are going to need Lewis to pick up the pace from here on out.

Brandon Bass has been vocal about his displeasure with his playing time with the Magic. With that in mind the Magic might try to move Bass by next week’s trading deadline. They don’t have to trade Bass so it wouldn’t be smart to move him unless the Magic make themselves a better team and I just don’t see them getting that kind of value for him. Bass has played in 29 games (3 starts) for the Magic this season and he is averaging 13.2 minutes, 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game on 52.5% shooting from the floor.

The Magic really need Jameer Nelson to pick it up. He has played in 24 games (23 starts) for the Magic so far this season and he is averaging 28.2 minutes, 11.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. The Magic need Nelson to get his shot back because it helps make the opposing teams start to extend the defense opening up the paint for the Magic’s talented front-line.

Back-up center Marcin Gortat was excellent in the playoffs last season and he figured he would cash in and get a starting job at the same time last summer as a restricted free agent. The Mavericks offered him a very nice contract with the idea of making him their starting center but the Magic matched it surprisingly and he was not happy then. He really must be fuming now because of his lack of playing time this year. Gortat has played in 32 games (0 starts) for the Magic this season and he is averaging 13.2 minutes, 3.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. The Magic might be interested in trading him at the deadline if they have any needs to fill but the team doesn’t appear to have many weaknesses right now. That means Gortat might have to grin and bear it the rest of the year.