NICE READ @
http://www.nba.com/magic/news/steele_blog.htmlFOR YOUR RECORDS HATERS
It was not a victory, but it felt like a success. Orlando dropped a 105-99 game to the red-hot Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night at Amway Center, but they looked much more like a real basketball team than they did on Monday in Atlanta. After Saturday’s mid-season makeover, the Magic resembled a talented pick up team against the Hawks, but one night later took the 23-5 Mavericks down to the wire. A big reason for the dramatic improvement was the play of Hedo Turkoglu.
Turkoglu received a warm welcome from Magic fans during team introductions, then went out and reminded everyone just exactly why he was such a popular player during his five previous seasons in Orlando. His on-court rapport with Dwight Howard was on display, as time after time Hedo and Howard helped one another find openings in the Dallas defense. Howard setting solid screens for Turk at the top of the key. Turk, using his 6’10” frame to pass the ball over smaller defenders to Dwight at just the right time, in just the right spot for Howard to score around the basket. They have such a nice chemistry, you would never know that the two have not played together in 18 months, since the NBA Finals in 2009.
The stat sheet said Turkoglu had a bad game. The stat sheet lied. Nine missed shots and 4 turnovers would ordinarily disqualify a player from receiving praise of any kind after a team loss, but more than a few of those errant shots were on drives to the basket, resulting in Howard rebounds and put backs, and his turnovers were mostly a result of plays of aggression. Mistakes you can live with. Turkoglu led the team with 8 assists, directed the half-court offense aggressively and effectively in the 4th quarter, and on the defensive end, guarded 9-time all-star Dirk Nowitzki with a ferocity that one can only hope we see much more of in the coming months. Nowitzki scored just 17 hard-earned points on 4 of 13 shooting. He was hounded by Hedo throughout the game.
Turkoglu is obviously ecstatic to be back in Orlando, a sentiment shared, no doubt by most Magic fans, and Dwight Howard as well.
Posting the same thing all over (spamming) will get you an insta-ban. Enjoy your short vacation and mull over whether you can keep it constructive or want a permanent ban.
Miklo
