A Slow Start By the Toronto Raptors' Hedo Turkoglu Gets Slower in 2010

When Hedo Turkoglu joined the Toronto Raptors in the summer of 2009, he had just completed the best two seasons of his career in Orlando.

A bona fide 17 points, five rebounds, five assists, and a steal small forward who had just gone to the NBA finals and was a big factor in guarding Paul Pierce, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant.  The Raptors had finally acquired the major missing piece for the team since Bryan Colangelo starting remaking the Raptors.

There was some grumbling about Turkoglu turning 30 and how his skills may decline by the end of his five-year deal.  And a few enlightened people noted that Stan Van Gundy had revamped the Magic’s entire offensive to maximize Turkoglu contributions.  So maybe Turkoglu might not be able to keep up those lofty statistics.

But almost everyone believed that a high basketball IQ player like Turkoglu should be able to maintain a 15 point, five rebound, and five assist contribution for the Raptors.

And actually it is close to that.  Hedo Turkoglu is averaging 13.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists.  The steals may have dropped to 0.5 per game, but the blocks at 0.5 per game more than make up for that.

As much as anything, it has been the maddeningly inconsistent play of Hedo Turkoglu that has most fans wondering what is going on.

In the five times Turkoglu scored 20 or more points, each time his next game has seen just nine to 12 points.  On 10 separate occasions, Turkoglu’s next game scoring has been off by seven or more points.  He’s only played 37 games so far.

Also, Turkoglu doesn’t seem to be improving as he gets used to playing with his new teammates.  In November, he averaged 14.0 points, in December 13.1 points, and in five games in January just 10.6 points.

And the public outburst to the press after the Boston game seems to confirm Turkoglu’s struggles adjusting to his new team.

Digging a little deeper uncovers a possible explanation for Turkoglu’s less than satisfactory play on some nights.

The Toronto Raptors had a number of back-to-back games to start this season.  And the team did not fair so well in these contests.

In seven games with no rest, Turkoglu has averaged 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and shot just 37.7 percent.  With one or more days rest, Turkoglu’s stats are very close to the 15, 5, and 5 expected.

And to start 2010, the Raptors have played two back-to-back sets. But wait, Hedo didn’t play in the second game of the first back-to-back against the Spurs.  So of course, in the next game on three days rest against the Magic, he put up 17 points on 50 percent shooting.

But in January, with Turkoglu averaging 10.7 points on 36.95 percent shooting, Hedo has given every indication of being fatigued everywhere but Orlando.

In the past, playing on no rest has not been a problem for Turkoglu.  Last season in Orlando, Hedo put up his best stats on no rest: 18.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.0 steals in 34.7 minutes.  And this has been typical of Hedo’s play in past years.

Hedo Turkoglu came to the Raptors training camp complaining of exhaustion and the coaches let him rest.

When the season started, it appeared Turkoglu wasn’t in game-shape because he had missed so much preseason.

In January, Turkoglu missed the second game played due to a reported virus.  And Hedo hasn’t look right in 2010 except for the game against his old team in Orlando.

So what is up with Hedo Turkoglu?

A player with a history of playing better on no rest is suddenly fatigued most of the time and plays especially poorly on the second night of back-to-backs.

In 2010, maybe it is just the lingering effects of a virus?

Maybe it’s a side effect from being featured in a prominent commercial on TV?  (Bosh’s first game after the release of “First Ink” left something to be desired.)

Hopefully Hedo Turkoglu isn’t playing through some undisclosed lingering injury that is going to last all season!

Turkoglu is capable of much more than Toronto Raptors fans have seen to date.  Maybe as the month of January unfolds, we’ll get to see some of that talent.  The Toronto Raptors are counting on it.