duncan228
06-08-2009, 03:41 PM
For Magic’s Turkoglu, the Highs Can Be Fleeting (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/sports/basketball/09nba.html?_r=1&ref=sports)
Jonathan Abrams
New York Times
LOS ANGELES — The gap between gaffe and glory in the N.B.A. playoffs is slight. Players can flirt with both in a mere moment, but the outcome will exist for eternity.
Hedo Turkoglu, a forward for the Orlando Magic, has sampled both this postseason. His step-back jumper needled Orlando above the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday evening in Game 2 of the N.B.A. finals with 47.7 seconds remaining. When Pau Gasol responded with a layup to tie the score, Turkoglu’s thoughts might have drifted to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals when LeBron James deleted Turkoglu’s shining moment of a would-be game-winning shot with his last-second 3-pointer.
There was little chance to rehash Sunday. Turkoglu kept playing. In the final seconds of regulation, he was beat by Kobe Bryant but then resurfaced to block Bryant’s potential game-winning shot from behind and he delivered a crisp ally-oop pass to the rookie Courtney Lee with 0.6 seconds left, watching as Lee’s attempt kicked off the rim.
The line between success and setback blurred again for Turkoglu, who has developed into a clutch shooter for the Magic. With little time left in the game, Turkoglu has come up big for the Magic. His résumé includes a game-winning shot in the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers and several game-winners the past two regular seasons.
On Sunday Turkoglu delivered everything but the win.
“I saw an opening and threw it up,” Turkoglu said of his inbounds floater to Lee. “It would have been great for us because we played good.”
This time of the year, there are plenty of ousted players with a stockpile of would-haves. The quirky Turkoglu is one of the few who can shrug off plays and games, and his team is one of the few capable of the same, a quality that has served it well this postseason.
The Magic has rallied from postseason deficits against the 76ers and the Boston Celtics. The onus is tougher against the Lakers, and the novice Magic still appears to be refocusing its eyes to the bright stage of the finals.
Turkoglu is one of the few Magic players accustomed to the postseason. Instead of being concerned that Turkoglu is aware of an extra burden on his shoulders, Orlando General Manager Otis Smith is sometimes worried that Turkoglu forgets too quickly. “He can miss 15 in a row and he’s going to shoot and make 16,” Smith said. “That’s just him.”
The team has exhibited its resolve, largely from a cast of lighthearted characters, paced by Dwight Howard and Turkoglu.
Before games, Turkoglu consumes pizza, a personal choice, but not the most appealing one before two hours of lung-burning cardiovascular activity. After games, he walks the locker room in an embroidered bathrobe in the essence of Hugh Hefner.
It is in that span that Turkoglu truly distinguishes himself. He is a walking mismatch, and his improvement was integral to the Magic’s ascension. A gifted ball-handler at 6 feet 10 inches, he is only now reaching his potential at 30 years old.
He is widely popular overseas, and he and Utah’s Mehmet Okur are the only N.B.A. players from Turkey. Turkoglu entered the N.B.A. with the Sacramento Kings in 2000 and was nicknamed the Michael Jordan of Turkey. In Sacramento his minutes fluctuated as a backup to Peja Stojakovic, and the organization wondered if he was too carefree. His personality never strayed. “When I think of Hedo, all I do is laugh,” said the TNT analyst Chris Webber, a former teammate of his with the Kings.
The Kings dealt Turkoglu to the Indiana Pacers in a three-team deal, and Indiana traded him to the San Antonio Spurs. Turkoglu, who can become a free agent after the finals, signed with the Orlando Magic in 2004 and won the league’s award for most improved player last season.
Instead of resembling Jordan, he contains more of Scottie Pippen’s fabric, able to handle the ball and see the length of the court. “Sometimes you’ve got to get guys not necessarily at their peak but on the verge of peaking, and that’s what Hedo was,” Smith said.
There are a number of stars in the league who can adopt to any system, said Orlando Coach Stan Van Gundy. Turkoglu falls into the category of players who thrive under the right one, he added. “And I think what he’s done is just taken great advantage of the opportunity he’s gotten,” Van Gundy said.
When asked about Turkoglu, Anthony Johnson, Orlando’s veteran point guard, began his response with a lengthy laugh.
“He’s the only player that’s in the N.B.A. finals who is so out of shape,” Johnson said. “For the minutes that he plays, that’s almost impossible, but somehow he manages to find a way. Eating pizza before the game, every game, that’s unheard of.”
Before Game 2, Turkoglu joked with the reserve point guard Tyronn Lue and removed the tape from his ankles and placed it on Lee.
A reporter asked him for two seconds of his time. “One, two,” Turkoglu said with a smile.
“He’s a comical guy, but he also knows when to play the ‘I-don’t-understand — foreigner’ routine,” said his teammate Tony Battie. “Some guys go through ups and downs where they’re not talkative, but he’s pretty consistent with who he is.”
Turkoglu sprinted from the locker room, but not before interrupting a media interview with his point guard Rafer Alston, telling him, “Thanks for everything.”
“Hey,” Alston responded. “Elevate your game.”
He did, especially after a dismal Game 1, amassing 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists on Sunday.
Afterward, Turkoglu walked the locker room in his robe with customary flair but with his normally accompanying smile absent.
“All around, we played good, but it wasn’t good enough to win the game,” Turkoglu said.
The smile will most likely come back in Orlando. The Magic hopes its chances of resurfacing in the finals will as well.
Jonathan Abrams
New York Times
LOS ANGELES — The gap between gaffe and glory in the N.B.A. playoffs is slight. Players can flirt with both in a mere moment, but the outcome will exist for eternity.
Hedo Turkoglu, a forward for the Orlando Magic, has sampled both this postseason. His step-back jumper needled Orlando above the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday evening in Game 2 of the N.B.A. finals with 47.7 seconds remaining. When Pau Gasol responded with a layup to tie the score, Turkoglu’s thoughts might have drifted to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals when LeBron James deleted Turkoglu’s shining moment of a would-be game-winning shot with his last-second 3-pointer.
There was little chance to rehash Sunday. Turkoglu kept playing. In the final seconds of regulation, he was beat by Kobe Bryant but then resurfaced to block Bryant’s potential game-winning shot from behind and he delivered a crisp ally-oop pass to the rookie Courtney Lee with 0.6 seconds left, watching as Lee’s attempt kicked off the rim.
The line between success and setback blurred again for Turkoglu, who has developed into a clutch shooter for the Magic. With little time left in the game, Turkoglu has come up big for the Magic. His résumé includes a game-winning shot in the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers and several game-winners the past two regular seasons.
On Sunday Turkoglu delivered everything but the win.
“I saw an opening and threw it up,” Turkoglu said of his inbounds floater to Lee. “It would have been great for us because we played good.”
This time of the year, there are plenty of ousted players with a stockpile of would-haves. The quirky Turkoglu is one of the few who can shrug off plays and games, and his team is one of the few capable of the same, a quality that has served it well this postseason.
The Magic has rallied from postseason deficits against the 76ers and the Boston Celtics. The onus is tougher against the Lakers, and the novice Magic still appears to be refocusing its eyes to the bright stage of the finals.
Turkoglu is one of the few Magic players accustomed to the postseason. Instead of being concerned that Turkoglu is aware of an extra burden on his shoulders, Orlando General Manager Otis Smith is sometimes worried that Turkoglu forgets too quickly. “He can miss 15 in a row and he’s going to shoot and make 16,” Smith said. “That’s just him.”
The team has exhibited its resolve, largely from a cast of lighthearted characters, paced by Dwight Howard and Turkoglu.
Before games, Turkoglu consumes pizza, a personal choice, but not the most appealing one before two hours of lung-burning cardiovascular activity. After games, he walks the locker room in an embroidered bathrobe in the essence of Hugh Hefner.
It is in that span that Turkoglu truly distinguishes himself. He is a walking mismatch, and his improvement was integral to the Magic’s ascension. A gifted ball-handler at 6 feet 10 inches, he is only now reaching his potential at 30 years old.
He is widely popular overseas, and he and Utah’s Mehmet Okur are the only N.B.A. players from Turkey. Turkoglu entered the N.B.A. with the Sacramento Kings in 2000 and was nicknamed the Michael Jordan of Turkey. In Sacramento his minutes fluctuated as a backup to Peja Stojakovic, and the organization wondered if he was too carefree. His personality never strayed. “When I think of Hedo, all I do is laugh,” said the TNT analyst Chris Webber, a former teammate of his with the Kings.
The Kings dealt Turkoglu to the Indiana Pacers in a three-team deal, and Indiana traded him to the San Antonio Spurs. Turkoglu, who can become a free agent after the finals, signed with the Orlando Magic in 2004 and won the league’s award for most improved player last season.
Instead of resembling Jordan, he contains more of Scottie Pippen’s fabric, able to handle the ball and see the length of the court. “Sometimes you’ve got to get guys not necessarily at their peak but on the verge of peaking, and that’s what Hedo was,” Smith said.
There are a number of stars in the league who can adopt to any system, said Orlando Coach Stan Van Gundy. Turkoglu falls into the category of players who thrive under the right one, he added. “And I think what he’s done is just taken great advantage of the opportunity he’s gotten,” Van Gundy said.
When asked about Turkoglu, Anthony Johnson, Orlando’s veteran point guard, began his response with a lengthy laugh.
“He’s the only player that’s in the N.B.A. finals who is so out of shape,” Johnson said. “For the minutes that he plays, that’s almost impossible, but somehow he manages to find a way. Eating pizza before the game, every game, that’s unheard of.”
Before Game 2, Turkoglu joked with the reserve point guard Tyronn Lue and removed the tape from his ankles and placed it on Lee.
A reporter asked him for two seconds of his time. “One, two,” Turkoglu said with a smile.
“He’s a comical guy, but he also knows when to play the ‘I-don’t-understand — foreigner’ routine,” said his teammate Tony Battie. “Some guys go through ups and downs where they’re not talkative, but he’s pretty consistent with who he is.”
Turkoglu sprinted from the locker room, but not before interrupting a media interview with his point guard Rafer Alston, telling him, “Thanks for everything.”
“Hey,” Alston responded. “Elevate your game.”
He did, especially after a dismal Game 1, amassing 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists on Sunday.
Afterward, Turkoglu walked the locker room in his robe with customary flair but with his normally accompanying smile absent.
“All around, we played good, but it wasn’t good enough to win the game,” Turkoglu said.
The smile will most likely come back in Orlando. The Magic hopes its chances of resurfacing in the finals will as well.