Turkoglu's Nightlife Extravaganza

C'mon Party People - After a trip to the 2008-09 NBA Finals with the Orlando Magic, Hedo Turkoglu was involved in a four-team trade that sent the first ever Turkish-born player to the Toronto Raptors. Coming off a big year in which he and teammate Dwight Howard played conductor in Orlando's second ever trip to the NBA Finals and first since 1995, Turkoglu and the Magic seemed to finally get on the same page. But instead, Hedo decided to opt out of his contract, resulting in the deal that sent him North. With a new five-year, $53 million dollar deal in hand, big things were expected from the Turkish Olympic silver medalist. However, things haven't gone exactly as planned, as both Turkoglu and the Toronto Raptors have struggled all season long.

Although the Raptors (37-37) are currently at the helm of the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference, their grasp of the final playoff spot is slowly slipping away as Chicago remains in their rear-view mirror some 1.5 games back with less than 10-games remaining in the regular season. In need of all the help they can get, Turkoglu sat out during last Friday's game against the Denver Nuggets. A game in which Toronto went on to lose, helping the Bulls inch closer to the postseason. The reasoning for Hedo's absence? A stomach virus. But although the illness kept him from playing that night, it didn't keep him from partying it up. In fact, later that night Hedo was spotted by fans paying the local nightclub a visit. With e-mails of Turkoglu's whereabouts flying in to team officials, it wasn't long before the media did its thing. After a displeased front office and fan base, the team issued both a fine and a benching in the Raptors' game against the Miami Heat.

With Raptor fans on to his every move like TMZ cameras on Octomom, hopefully Hedo learns a lesson out of all this. Besides, if Toronto does happen to make the postseason, it shouldn't take more than four games for the number one seeded Cleveland Cavaliers to bounce them out of the playoffs, giving Turkoglu all the time he needs to pop bottles and get his party on. When asked for his opinion on the people of Toronto watching him like a hawk, Hedo went on to say, "It's all good, man. I've been dealing with this stuff the whole year. They've been on me on this going out the whole year long. If I wasn't out, sick or healthy, they would still say something. I don't say anything. Ten games left of the season, all I try to do is finish strong." With an attitude like that, I wouldn't be surprised if the man tried tanking a few games on purpose, just to get the season over with. To put some more fire under their ass, the Raptors will match-up against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday April 11th. A game that just might decide the fate of both teams' playoff hopes.