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Just some comedy relief for the hard working posters here.
Early slump doesn't faze Turkoglu
By KEN HORNACK
ORLANDO -- Shooters are bound to go through prolonged slumps during the course of an NBA season.
If the Orlando Magic are fortunate, Hedo Turkoglu has already come and gone before they've even started playing for keeps.
The 6-foot-10 forward from Turkey, who was the Magic's top free-agent addition this past summer, had missed 15 consecutive field-goal attempts since going 6-for-8 in their preseason opener a week ago. Turkoglu finally ended his drought in the second quarter Sunday night against the Dallas Mavericks with a layup off one of Steve Francis' 13 assists in the Magic's 114-93 victory.
And his 3-pointer during a 29-14 run in the last 7 1/2 minutes by the Magic was an indication of what Turkoglu can do once he gets his stroke going.
"I'm not panicking at all. That's why I'm a good shooter," said Turkoglu, whose career-high shooting average of 41.9 percent from 3-point range last season with the San Antonio Spurs ranked him eighth in the league in that category.
Turkoglu struggled in the playoffs against both the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Lakers at the end of his only season as a Spur. Last week, he went a combined 0-for-11 from the floor in 42 minutes of the Magic's losses to the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat.
But even before getting off the schneid against the Mavs, he made his presence known in other areas. Turkoglu stole a crosscourt pass by Dan au early in the second quarter and never broke stride until he was fouled and sent to the line for two free throws.
"He's a very active player," Magic coach Johnny Davis said. "He rebounds well from his position. He's a better defender than people give him credit for being. He's a heads-up player."
And the fifth-year pro claims he kept his head up when his jump shot wouldn't fall.
"I have those kinds of games at the beginning, always," Turkoglu said. "I don't think too much or worry too much -- just play through that and get better every day."
"There won't be a problem with Hedo hitting shots," Davis said. "That's what he does."
With how healthy and how impressive Grant Hill looked in the Magic's first win of the preseason, Turkoglu is more and more likely to be playing behind him when the regular season opens Nov. 3. But Davis used Hill and Turkoglu together for a three-minute stretch of the fourth quarter after Cuttino Mobley picked up his fifth foul, and the combination seemed to work well.
"I really enjoy playing with him (Hill)," Turkoglu said. "And I hope he will stay healthy because he's a great player, no question about that."
Despite his 2-for-9 shooting performance, the Magic broke the 100-point mark -- something they failed to do in any of their first three preseason games and their final 13 regular-season games.
Rookies Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson joined Mobley, Hill and Francis among the Magic players who scored in double figures. In addition to scoring 10 points and grabbing eight rebounds, Howard recorded his first blocked shot when he rejected au's 9-footer with less than two minutes to go.
Just some comedy relief for the hard working posters here.
Aren't we supposed to post jokes in the club?
Hedo really dissapointed me last year.
That face saying hes a good shooter is laughable.
Johnny Davis is an obvious Hedosucker.
He WAS a good shooter . . . once in a while
Hmmmm. Well they will obviously have to bench a healthy Hill so that Hedo can keep his confidence up. Thats what any team would do, right.
Technically, woudldn't this just be a continuation of the slump since the day after he hit the game-winner against the Pooh-cers?
"It's up.....*clank*"
Maybe we should all pitch in and buy Hedo a new purse. That way, he can forget about the strap breaking on the old one and just shoot freely.
"I won't let this slump get to my head. I've got to focus on just missing my shots. I have to miss them one shot at a time. With these numbers I've been putting up I'll be starting in no time!" - Hedo
Does the curse of not signing with the Spurs still exist if the team never wanted the guy?
Look at Hedo to be in the top 5 of best 3 point shooters again at the end of this season.
Wouldn't that require that it happen once?Look at Hedo to be in the top 5 of best 3 point shooters again at the end of this season.
Turky-poo is a chimera. You look at him and go WOW, he can pass, shoot from distance, rebound and he's 6'10". Then you realize that you're at practice, and none of that translates in any consistant way to the games.
I wonder how Tarukay is feeling now?
"Wouldn't that require that it happen once?"
Wasn't he the top 3-point shooter during the 1st half of last season?
Anywayz, I will be talking to you naysayers later up.
I hope Hedo will find back his shot.
He did a great job playing in silver and black (especialy on D).
He is in my cheering book.
i'm more concerned with horry's 3 point shooting these days....hope he can hit a few when it counts....
Forget Horry as significant source 3-point offense. He didn't have it in 04 ("saved for the playoffs"), nor in 03 playoffs (3/32 3-ptrs), so why will have his 3-pt shot back a year later? I figure he's only good for "intangibles", a few RBs, some D, while Tim or Rasho sit.
The Spurs' 3-pt Great White Hope is Brent, and that he can only get better as a Spur, since he can't get any worse.
to be a good shooter dont you have to be able to hit shots in between that arc-thing-a-ma-bobber and the hoop, because that hedo guy wasnt to good at that, ever. I never really understood that, how guys like hedo can nail a three and miss a 17 footer or Bowen can shoot higher from behind the arc than the charity stripe.
Hedo just doesn't seem to give a about some things, but he's in good shape and was hustling pretty well in the game I saw. Weird. He's going to be an enigma for the rest of his career. No way is he worth his salary -- his, Foyle's and Cardinal's deals give credence to the owners' CBA conspiracy.
alamo50 doesn't get it. never has.
Neither do you, Sequ. If every Spurs player that you say sucks actually sucked, the Spurs would be in the lottery instead of making deep playoff runs, and winning a few championships along the way.
Okay Hedo lover, whatever you say!
At least somebody is not spiteful! Brent Barry has been as bad as Hedo's worst moments so far...maybe we should focus on ragging on our own players instead of worrying about other teams'
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