Hedo Turkoglu Deserves Credit For Orlando’s Recent Play
The Orlando Magic are now 7-3 over their last 10 games. Their first loss came in Oakland against the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors went an incredible 21-of-35 from beyond the arc and Orlando still had a shot to tie the game in overtime. Three days later, the Magic fell apart in the second half, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers 97-84. They fell to the New York Knicks in overtime Monday night but played just a seven-man rotation due to injury.
Losing to Golden State certainly isn’t a good thing but when Monta Ellis (7-of-9) and Dorell Wright (8-of-11) got a combined 15-of-20 (75.0%) from beyond the arc, you have to take your lumps. Orlando may be frustrated by the way they lost to the Lakers but clearly there is no shame in getting beat in the Staples Center (well, unless you’re playing the Clippers). They also gave a great effort against the Knicks but couldn’t overcome their injury problems.
There have been several reasons for Orlando’s recent success.
The first and most important reason is always Dwight Howard when it comes to the Magic.
Over the last 10 games, Howard is averaging 23.8 points, 17.2 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
Defensively, we know what Howard brings to the table but the rest of the team has stepped up and joined Howard as of late.
Outside of a bad first half against the Knicks back on March 23 and a couple of letdowns out west (Sacramento, Golden State), Orlando’s defense has been fantastic.
Dwight Howard dominating on both ends of the court and Orlando’s other players getting acclimated and buying into head coach Stan Van Gundy’s system is something that shouldn’t surprise anyone.
The recent play of Hedo Turkoglu is surprising.
Although Turkoglu was told to be more aggressive and make better decisions since the day he returned to Orlando this “re-marriage” didn’t appear to be working out.
Turkoglu continued to pass up open shots, take poor shots (mostly long, contested jumpers) and make inexplicably poor decisions.
Recently, things have changed as you can see from the chart below.
First on the chart are Hedo Turkoglu’s 2010-11 season statistics. Below that is how Turkoglu has performed in his last 10 games.
PPG 3pt% eFG% RPG APG
10.6 42.1% 53.8% 4.3 4.3
15.8 50.0% 60.3% 4.6 5.4
During this span, Turkoglu has taken 116 shots – 11.6 per game – showing Van Gundy that he is being much more aggressive.
He’s taking better shots, getting into the lane more often and turning the ball over less.
In fact, outside of a four-turnover game in Orlando’s 85-82 victory over the Denver Nuggets on March 18, Turkoglu has done a great job protecting the ball. Since that game, he has just two turnovers in three games.
In that game against Denver, Turkoglu nearly had a triple-double with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to make up for those turnovers.
He’s also posted double-doubles Wednesday against New York (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Friday against the Nets (20 points, 13 assists).
If Turkoglu can continue to give the Magic effort like this, they’re going to be in much better shape than most think heading into the postseason.
During this span, Turkoglu has taken 116 shots – 11.6 per game – showing Van Gundy that he is being much more aggressive.
He’s taking better shots, getting into the lane more often and turning the ball over less.
In fact, outside of a four-turnover game in Orlando’s 85-82 victory over the Denver Nuggets on March 18, Turkoglu has done a great job protecting the ball. Since that game, he has just two turnovers in three games.
In that game against Denver, Turkoglu nearly had a triple-double with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to make up for those turnovers.
He’s also posted double-doubles Wednesday against New York (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Friday against the Nets (20 points, 13 assists).
If Turkoglu can continue to give the Magic effort like this, they’re going to be in much better shape than most think heading into the postseason.
Dwight Howard Named Eastern Conference Player Of The Week
Dwight Howard was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the sixth time this season. No other player has won the award six times this season (LeBron James 5; Russell Westbrook, Dwyane Wade 4).
The Magic defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets during the week. Howard averaged 27.3 points, 14.3 rebounds, 3.3 blocks and 2.3 steals during the week. He also shot an incredible 71.7% from the field in the three games.
Per ESPN, he became the first player since Hakeem Olajuwon to record at least, 28 points, 18 rebounds , four blocks, four assists and four steals in the same game (Cleveland).
Here is a recap of the week courtesy of the Orlando Magic:
Mar. 21 @ Cleveland: Posted 28 points, 18 rebounds, four blocks, four assists and four steals in a 97-86 win over the Cavaliers.
Mar. 23 @ New York: Poured in 33 points to go along with 11 rebounds, three blocks and two assists in a 111-99 win at New York.
Mar. 25 vs. New Jersey: Tallied 21 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in a 95-85 victory over the Nets.
News & Notes:
- Dwight Howard recorded his 31st straight double-double with his 29-point, 18-rebound game against the Knicks Monday night.
- The Magic will take on the Hawks in Atlanta Wednesday.
- The Magic are just 1-2 against the Hawks this season but had previously won six of the last seven meetings.
- The Hawks defeated the Magic 91-81 behind Al Horford’s 24 points and 11 rebounds on December 20. The Magic were led by Howard’s 19 points and 20 rebounds. It was the first game Gilbert Arenas (10 points), Jason Richardson (nine points) and Hedo Turkoglu (eight points) appeared in for the Magic this season.
- The Hawks also defeated the Magic in Orlando on December 6 80-74. Josh Smith had 19 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks while Howard had 14 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.
- Orlando defeated the Hawks 93-89 in their first meeting back on November 6 despite trailing by 13 in the first half. Dwight Howard had 27 points and 11 rebounds.
