ORLANDO -- Hedo Turkoglu of the Orlando Magic is mostly known for his skilled offensive game. He is the NBA's most improved player after his career high 19.5 ppg, 8 better than his career average.
What most people don't realize about Turk is that his defensive prowess is vastly improved.
"There's a lot of good forwards in this league and it's a good challenge for myself to go against those guys, not just offensively, but defensively, and see myself guarding those guys and what can I do against them. It's a good challenge for myself to play hard all the time and do my best," Turkoglu said.
"He's made a conscious effort of playing good one-on-one defense and team defense and the other day he blocked a shot. He's not known for blocking shots so for him to change it up, it's good," said Dwight Howard.
This is the same Turkoglu that former Magic guard Steve Francis once described as a player who doesn't play any defense. Stan Van Gundy gets a kick out of Francis' analysis of Turk.
"Hedo, I think, is a good defensive player, and I don't think Steve would recognize good defense if he saw it," Van Gundy said.
Turkoglu, the first-Turkish born player in the NBA, and the rest of the Magic will need to play to the best of their abilities on both ends of the floor in order to continue their playoff run. The first game is Saturday night at 7:30 in Detroit. It will be broadcast on TNT.
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