FanHouse Exclusive: Talking Trash and Strategy With Rashard Lewis

Notes from a trip to the NBA Playoffs.

When I entered Orlando's locker room before tonight's game, Rashard Lewis and J.J. Redick were watching a couple of ESPN analysts on TV talking about Game 1. The talking heads mentioned Lewis' 553 three-point attempts this year, a figure that shocked Redick.

"Did you lead the league in attempts?" asked Redick.

"No, I was somewhere in the top five," Lewis repiled.

He's selling himself short: he was second only to Jason Richardson (599). In fact, the Magic set an NBA record by making at least five threes in every regular season game this year, and then extended that streak in all five games of the first round only to make just a single shot from long distance in Game 1 against the Pistons. I asked Lewis if we can expect to see more three pointers the rest of the series, as well as whether his back-and-forth with Theo Ratliff might start another rap feud like the LeBron/Jay-Z vs. DeShawn/Soulja Boy.

Matt Watson: JJ was just talking about the number of threes that you guys usually put up. Is that something that you guys want to get back to this game?

Rashard Lewis: It's helped us have the successful season that we've had because Dwight demands so much attention down low he's going to draw double teams and we got to knock down open shots in order to open it up for him.

MW: Do you think part of the reason you guys got away from that last game, is that because you guys saw lanes opening up, or did they throw you out of your rhythm, or was it maybe a combination of both?

RL: Oh, now, we were just playing basketball. Coach, he wanted us to penetrate the ball as much as possible and try to get in the teeth of their defense as well as try to get the ball into Dwight. But I think we were over-penetrating and passing up open shots and not shooting our normal shots that we usually take, and we've got to get the ball down low to Dwight a little bit more.

MW: Earlier this year, when DeShawn Stevenson was talking about LeBron James, LeBron countered with the Jay-Z/Soulja Boy thing, which escalated to Soulja Boy coming to the games and Jay-Z writing the song. Is this little thing between you and Theo, might that escalate?

RL: No, I doubt it very seriously. I'm a basketball player, I go out there to play basketball and not to trash talk. It was just something that he said and I responded to it. It wasn't nothing personal, it was just me being a man and responding to what he said. But at the same time, I'm not that type of player. I go out there to play basketball and try to win for my team and let the trash talk stay on their side.

MW: Are they doing a lot of talking?

RL: No, not necessarily, just the little comment Theo Ratliff made. It's just a part of the game – when you're out there playing in the heat of the moment you may say something to a referee or a player, but it's just a part of the game. Guys got to recognize that sometimes trash talking is a part of the game, it's nothing personal.

MW: What do you think you guys have to do to kind of prove that this last game was just a fluke and get back to what you guys were doing all year long?

RL: We got to come out and play basketball and we got to be in a better rhythm on the offensive end, move the ball around, get it inside to Dwight.