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Spike · 08-05-2001, 02:16 AM

What do you guys think about Hidayet Turkoglu? I like him a lot. He was erratic in the limited minutes he got last year but he was only a rookie and with time I think he'll improve. He's got a good outside shot and can take it to the hole. He played the point guard, shooting guard, small forward and even the power forward spot in Turkey.

He plays well against the Lakers for some reason too. Because I remember he was awful in the Kings' first round playoff series with the Suns but then was really productive against the Lakers. He also did well in the Kings' only win against the Lakers this past season, the last regular season matchup between the 2 teams. So I guess if you're going to do good against one team, it's not bad that that team be the 2-time defending World Champions.

Another thing I like about Turkoglu is he's not your typical European player that comes into the N.B.A. and doesn't want to play any defense and is soft. This year he's shown he's willing to move his feet and play defense. He shut down Shawn Marion one time when the Kings played at Phoenix and were down by something like 29 points and came back to win that game. And Turkoglu is also tough. He's shown an ability to want to get into the lane and fight for loose balls and scrap with other big guys. He did that in Europe too causing his nose to be broken 10 times. His nose was broken so much that it not only looks funny because of that but he can't even breathe through it so when he's on the court he has to breathe through his mouth. He just recently had plastic surgery on it last month.

What I see for Turkoglu's future is that Chris Webber speculated in Ric Bucher's mid-season article about his free agent status that he wasn't sure if this team had go to guy down the stretch of close games because Webber doesn't really like to do that even though he has the capability. He likes to initiate who takes the last shot not the guy who actually does that. But I think Predrag Stojakovic can do that but I also think Turkoglu is tough enough mentally and physically and has the talent to do that as well.

08-05-2001, 02:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
Spike N.B.A. Moderator Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: northern California Posts: 822	Hidayet Turkoglu What do you guys think about Hidayet Turkoglu? I like him a lot. He was erratic in the limited minutes he got last year but he was only a rookie and with time I think he'll improve. He's got a good outside shot and can take it to the hole. He played the point guard, shooting guard, small forward and even the power forward spot in Turkey. He plays well against the Lakers for some reason too. Because I remember he was awful in the Kings' first round playoff series with the Suns but then was really productive against the Lakers. He also did well in the Kings' only win against the Lakers this past season, the last regular season matchup between the 2 teams. So I guess if you're going to do good against one team, it's not bad that that team be the 2-time defending World Champions. Another thing I like about Turkoglu is he's not your typical European player that comes into the N.B.A. and doesn't want to play any defense and is soft. This year he's shown he's willing to move his feet and play defense. He shut down Shawn Marion one time when the Kings played at Phoenix and were down by something like 29 points and came back to win that game. And Turkoglu is also tough. He's shown an ability to want to get into the lane and fight for loose balls and scrap with other big guys. He did that in Europe too causing his nose to be broken 10 times. His nose was broken so much that it not only looks funny because of that but he can't even breathe through it so when he's on the court he has to breathe through his mouth. He just recently had plastic surgery on it last month. What I see for Turkoglu's future is that Chris Webber speculated in Ric Bucher's mid-season article about his free agent status that he wasn't sure if this team had go to guy down the stretch of close games because Webber doesn't really like to do that even though he has the capability. He likes to initiate who takes the last shot not the guy who actually does that. But I think Predrag Stojakovic can do that but I also think Turkoglu is tough enough mentally and physically and has the talent to do that as well.