Hedo Turkoglu Playing Point Guard for the Magic?
Will Hedo run the point for Dwight?After the departure of Keyon Dooling for New Jersey, the Magic are looking for options at the point when Jameer Nelson steps off the floor. Instead of the conventional backups like Anthony Johnson and Mike Wilks, Stan Van Gundy is looking for a bigger body to fill that void.
“We’re taking a look…anything’s possible,” Van Gundy said. “We want to see what Courtney is capable of. We’ve been using Turk there (during games last season) without giving him any work (in practice), so we want to do that.”
When Van Gundy says Courtney, he’s referring to Western Kentucky rookie Courtney Lee, a 6-5 swingman who played point sparingly in college – but for the majority of the time, WKU’s system was run by their small lefty guard Tyrone Brazelton. But even if he’s an inexperienced ball handler, Lee still might have value at the one if he can lock down on dribble penetration defensively, one of Orlando’s biggest weaknesses last year.
And for Hedo, the Magic put the ball in his hands at the end of games last season for last-second heroics, but that’s a far cry from having him run the offense at some point when the clock isn’t about to expire.
Can Hedo Turkoglu actually run the point for the Magic or is Van Gundy just pushing too hard?
Source: Orlando Sentinel
October 1st, 2008 at 2:18 pm
JHov says:
Don’t get me wrong Hedo is a really good player and should have made the all-star team last yr..but going into camp talking about your 6′9 pf/sf logging alot of minutes at the point is a bad move!
you mean to tell me Redick has picked up decent handles..at least enough to get the ball to half court?? Why didn’t they address this in the offseason..no diss on Jameer but he’s not a true point..why not bring in B.Knight or even E. Boykins to help at that spot??
Imagine D. Howard’s stats if he had a pass first point guard ala Nash or Paul?!!
October 1st, 2008 at 2:19 pm
goonther says:
idiots …
October 1st, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Sam I Am says:
Damn JJ
You suck that bad white boy that you can’t even get a back up point ??
WOW
October 1st, 2008 at 2:36 pm
justice says:
Redick at the point would be a bad look so would lee, go get a vetern that can get the ball up the court and get u into ur offense quick, andre barrett deserves a look here even though his game is similiar to jameer, he is a knock down jump shooter and he will pressure his man 3/4 court..
October 1st, 2008 at 3:04 pm
bsteezy3 says:
Stan Van Gundy is trying way too hard. Hedo at the point?? Come on, we HAVE point guards already! I’m with some of the rest of you…why not put in J.J.?? I didn’t like JJ in college, but I feel sorry for the guy as he sits on the bench, while other guys (who can’t play defense) get in the game and shoot threes.
October 1st, 2008 at 4:07 pm
QuEsT??? says:
thats right fuck jameer nelson
October 1st, 2008 at 4:30 pm
justice says:
If im on the opposite bench and jj is at the point im trapping the shytt outta him, his handle is ok but he’s not the fastest dude around and just jumping in to being the rimary ballhandler on an nba team is hell, shytt jumping in to be the primary ballhandler on a high school team in a decent conference is hard, imagine the league.
keith has some experience at the point idk why this is even a discussion let him handle the rock he won’t shake up the world but he wont phuck it up and that’s all u need from ur backup
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:11 am
Big Sneezy says:
You know what “Hedu Turkoglu” means in Turkish? “Turkish Magic Friggin’ Johnson”.
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:27 am
analord says:
the 1st thing i thought of when i saw this is that JJ is gonna be gettin’ very little burn this year…
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:07 am
Dave says:
If Courtney Lee can handle some of the duties then himself and Hedo can definitely run the team.
Move Rashard Lewis to the three and you could play one heck of a big lineup.
June 8th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Richard says:
Hedo Turkoglu “MUST” play point guard for Orlando since he’s the “PLAYMAKER” (just like what Magic Johnson used to do for the Lakers before)and he’s doing such an excellent job. Unlike other fools, he plays under control and he’s a smart basketball player. He should also be the one guarding Kobe the Ballhog Bryant. He did a very good job guarding the ballhog. Orlando should’ve won game 2 had it not been stupid official who called foul on Pietrus when he didn’t even touch him (take a look at the video replay you idiots!) After watching game 2, I no longer trust the officiating of NBA. NBA wants Kobe and the Lakers to win…