February 26, 2008
By Justin Powell
ProBasketballNews.com
Earlier this season I had Orlando center Dwight Howard pegged as my top MVP candidate.
It’s not just that his numbers are incredible across the board (minus free-throw percentage), it’s what he’s able to do on defense and the space he opens up for Orlando’s perimeter players that make him so valuable.
Taking him away from the Magic would hurt Orlando just as much as -- if not more than -- taking Kobe Bryant away from the Lakers or LeBron James away from the Cavs would hurt those teams.
Well, Superman is flying as high as he has been all season, but now he’s facing stiff competition just to be the MVP of his own team.
Hedo Turkoglu has done everything asked of him this season, plus so much more. Howard certainly is more important to the team’s long-term success, but if you’re looking at taking away one of those players for the fourth quarter of a game, the Magic would be worse off without Turkoglu.
That’s why the first Turkish-born player ever to play in in the NBA has earned the nickname “Mr. Fourth Quarter” by a few analysts who have followed the franchise closely this year. With six points per game in the final period, he’s averaging more fourth-quarter points than all but four players -- Kobe, LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Joe Johnson.
He’s already hit game-winners against Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia.
Orlando’s late-game offense often resembles that of the Cavaliers or Lakers -- just get the ball in the hands of your superstar at the top of the key and hope he makes something happen.
That superstar for Orlando isn’t the guy who signed a six-year, $118 million contract this past offseason
(Rashard Lewis). And it isn’t the guy almost all NBA analysts see as the league’s next dominant big man for years to come (Howard).
It’s Turkoglu. A guy who has never averaged more than 14.9 points per game in any of his seven previous seasons. A guy who has never sniffed making an All-Star game before this year, which is the only reason he didn’t make the squad now. His play in the first half certainly warranted a spot on that team, but his big-name factor simply isn’t there yet.
Turkoglu is Orlando’s best playmaker, and on a team with no consistent point guard, he probably is the best passer on the roster. And in addition to his career-high 19.4 points and 4.7 assists per game this season, he’s also averaging a career-high 6.0 rebounds.
Rarely do eight-year veterans suddenly hit their stride and improve this much. Turkoglu always has been an effective NBA player, but he’s gotten better in every facet of his game, all in the span of one season.
As soon as he heard about the signing of Lewis, Turkoglu called his coach to make sure there still was a place for him on the team. After all, just like Turkoglu, Lewis is a 6-foot-10 wing player who likes to shoot the 3.
A lot of Magic fans wondered whether that huge contract for Lewis meant Turk was on his way out.
Quite the contrary. I can pretty much guarantee that if you asked anyone in the Magic front office or coaching staff who they think is more important to their team right now, they’d pick Turkoglu over Lewis.
Lewis has been fine. He’s doing about what was expected of him, averaging 18.2 points per game, hitting a lot of 3s and helping spread the floor. But his Turkoglu’s all-around game is at a different level than Lewis’ right now.
If Turkoglu continues to play this way in the postseason, the Magic just need solid play out of their backcourt to make some serious noise in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
