A Statistical Look into Chris Lewis' Production for Harvard Men's Basketball

As the attacking centerpiece in coach Tommy Amaker’s inside-out offense, junior forward Chris Lewis has stymied opposing big men throughout his time with the Crimson. His adept footwork, ambidextrous ability to finish hook shots from both sides of the rim, and powerful 235-pound frame has made him the premier big man in the Ancient Eight. Earning Ivy first-team accolades in his sophomore campaign and leading the conference with a 60.1 field goal percentage, the Alpharetta. Ga., native has topped the Crimson scoring sheet in the first three games of the new season.

To further analyze the specific positional role that Lewis occupies on the court, I broke down two recent games, the Nov. 9 home loss against Northeastern and the Nov. 13 road victory over UMass, focusing on where Lewis positions himself on the offensive play, how his presence affects the shot selection of his teammates, and how Lewis affects overall team scoring efficiency.

For the sake of succinctness, I have merged both games into one data set. Lewis played about nine more minutes against Northeastern (30) than he did against UMass (21), but tallied around the same numbers in both games. Against Northeastern, Lewis went 7-of-9 from the field for 17 points while the forward shot 8-of-11 for 16 points in the Minutemen contest.

HOW DOES LEWIS SET UP OFFENSIVELY?

Although most skilled as a back-to-basket, “traditional” big, Lewis is nevertheless the main screening man in Amaker’s offense. When matched with starting four Danilo Djuricic or bench contributor Robert Baker — both stretch bigs who often leave Lewis as the sole interior player, Lewis must oftentimes venture out to relieve pressure on the guards.

Here, I divided Lewis’s offensive role into four categories: Post (occupying a low, interior position around the painted area), Screen (setting a pick(and/or roll) on the backcourt ball handler), Transition (operating a fast-break offense immediately out of the backcourt without getting into a offensive set) or Other (neither gaining a stable inside position nor setting a screen, other miscellaneous plays).

By Henry Zhu

Unsurprisingly, Lewis anchored himself in the paint around half of his possessions. The Crimson prefers a slower, methodical playing style, as shown by its meager 68.2 possessions per game so far this season. This rate puts them at number 311 out of 353 teams in terms of pace of play.

With Lewis on the floor, Harvard ran a transition offense in only 14.3 percent of its plays.

WHERE DOES LEWIS GENERATE HIS SCORING?

Over the two games, Lewis was the final Crimson ball holder in 23 total possessions, of which he converted 15, missed five, and turned over three. Despite needing to set a high screen in 28 total possessions, only three resulted in Lewis shot attempts with two made baskets.

By Henry Zhu

Lewis shot at a 70.6 clip in the post position over the two games, generating 27 points from that area of the court. Having only scored six points in non-post sets, Lewis depends on securing himself in the trenches to contribute offensively to the Harvard team.

By Henry Zhu

HOW DOES LEWIS AFFECT TEAMMATE SHOT SELECTION?

When Lewis was on the court, the majority of non-Lewis shot attempts came in the form of the three-point shot. Out of 66 total possessions, the Crimson committed 11 turnovers as well as five non and-one trips to the free throw line. Of the remaining 50 “shooting” possessions, 30 were from beyond the arc. Harvard shot 43.3 percent from deep when Lewis was on the floor and 46 percent from the field as a whole.

By Henry Zhu

The rest of the Crimson logged the most points when Lewis initiated a screen, with 29 non-Lewis points. In this category, Harvard converted on 12 out of the 17 possessions. Comparatively, the non-Lewis Crimson went 10-of-21 when Lewis set up offensively in the post, combining for 25 points.

By Henry Zhu

TAKEAWAYS

1. Not a surprise, but Lewis scores almost exclusively out of the post and very rarely generates his own offense out of the pick-and-roll. The rest of the team, however, was very effective the past two games in scoring off a Lewis screen.

2. In drawing attention to the interior, opportunities are generated on the perimeter for three-pointers. The Crimson almost never attempts a mid-range shot when Lewis is on the floor with only five total jumpshots the past two games.

3. Overall, with field goal and three-point shooting percentages in the forties, Harvard has been pretty effective with Lewis on the court. Continuing to score at a high clip when Lewis is brought out of the paint will be critical to diversifying the offense beyond the Lewis post-up.

Not a surprise, but Lewis scores almost exclusively out of the post and very rarely generates his own offense out of the pick-and-roll. The rest of the team, however, was very effective the past two games in scoring off a Lewis screen.

In drawing attention to the interior, opportunities are generated on the perimeter for three-pointers. The Crimson almost never attempts a mid-range shot when Lewis is on the floor with only five total jumpshots the past two games.

Overall, with field goal and three-point shooting percentages in the forties, Harvard has been pretty effective with Lewis on the court. Continuing to score at a high clip when Lewis is brought out of the paint will be critical to diversifying the offense beyond the Lewis post-up.

— Staff writer Henry Zhu can be reached at henry.zhu@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @Zhuhen88.