Originally, Bosh injured his hamstring while working out in his home state of Texas. When he got to Toronto, the pain came back. The Raptors have diagnosed him with a strained hamstring.

Bosh can expect to be under the microscope this season due to his unrestricted free agent status next summer. Outside of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Bosh will be the biggest star available in the summer of 2010.

As for the Raptors, the team can’t afford to have a bad 2009-2010 NBA season because that will raise the chances of Bosh leaving after the campaign. To help return to the playoffs, the Raptors made many moves during the offseason including signing sought-after free agent Hedo Turkoglu.

Chris Bosh - Toronto Raptors (Image: Zuma Press)

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Chris Bosh Injury Update – Hamstring

Although the Raptors can pay him a little bit more — reportedly about $53 million instead of $50 million — it sounds like the city of Toronto was the main selling point. Turkoglu and his wife reportedly like Toronto’s international flavor and that was the turning point.

For the Blazers this is obviously bad news. Turkoglu would have fit perfectly at the small forward position. Next to Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden, Turkoglu would have made the Blazers a championship contender. Now with Turkoglu off the board, they’ll probably turn their attention to someone like David Lee of the New York Knicks or Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers.

With the Raptors, Turkoglu will join Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon. That foursome should be enough to make a major push for the playoffs.

Hedo Turkoglu Raptors (Image: Zuma Press)

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Turkoglu Changes Mind, Headed to Toronto

Last year with the Magic, Turkoglu averaged 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists during the regular season. In the postseason, the native of Turkey was instrumental in leading the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals.

With the Blazers, Turkoglu will play small forward next to Brandon Roy at shooting guard, LaMarcus Aldridge at power forward and Greg Oden at center. The 6-foot-10 Turkoglu gives the team a playmaker with size who has a knack of coming up clutch in important moments.

The Magic have already made plans for life after Turkoglu. On draft day, Orlando traded for Vince Carter of the New Jersey Nets and waived goodbye to Turkoglu.

On Friday, the Blazers are more than happy to welcome Hedo Turkoglu on board.

Hedo Turkoglu Leaves Orlando to Join Portland (Image: Zuma Press)

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Hedo Turkoglu Headed to the Blazers

Rookie Courtney Lee will likely get his shot at the Black Mamba in the beginning, provided Lee is in the starting lineup. Otherwise, when Mickael Pietrus is in the game, he will no doubt be regarded as the ‘Kobe Stopper’. How well he can stop Kobe is debatable, but my guess is Pietrus will do a better job than Ruben Patterson ever did.

Wouldn’t surprise me to see Hedo Turkoglu or J.J. Redick get some cracks at Kobe here and there, but it probably won’t end well for them.

Can Andrew Bynum step up his game against Superman?

If Bynum can, it could very well be a short series. An aggressive and interested Bynum could spell foul trouble for Dwight, and we all know while backup center Marcin Gortat can be decent in spurts, the Magic don’t have a prayer in the series unless Dwight is playing darn near 40-42 minutes a game.

LA’s offensive game plan?

Drive the ball to the hoop as much as possible. Instead of settling for jumpshots, post Pau and Andrew. Make Rashard and Dwight work on the defensive end. Get them out of the game and the Laker’s chances drastically improve.

Dwight wants some payback (Image: readmoretalkless.wordpress)

Orlando’s offensive game plan?

Besides shooting the three unconsciously? Force feed Dwight, keep him involved. If he gets doubled, that all the better because Turk, Lewis, Alston, Pietrus, Lee, and maybe Redick will be open to knock down their shots. The Magic must be cognizant of the abilities of Pietrus and Lewis to create on their own. Settling down the offense and running some isolations or post up sets for these two could prove to be a more dynamic and wiser attact than just the perimeter shot.  But this is the Orlando Magic I’m talking about, so the three ball might be just fine.

Oh, I almost forgot: get outta the way of Hedo in the fourth.

Who has the best closer?

Might not be as simple of an answer as you think.

Especially if Turk gets his proper pizza fix before the game.

Wildcards

1. Lamar Odom

2. His sugar highs/ lows

3. Shannon Brown/ SashaVujacic/ Jordan Farmar

4. Jameer Nelson (Is a rusty Jameer Nelson better than a healthy Anthony Johnson?)

5. J.J. Redick, will he play, and if he does, can he find his stroke?

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Inquiring Minds Want To Know: The Finals

Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis (Image: Newscom)

The Magic were led by Hedo Turkoglu. The native of Turkey scored 25 points, dished off 12 assists and pulled down five rebounds, while shooting 9-of-12 from the field and 4-for-5 on three-pointers. Superstar bigman Dwight Howard had 12 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks, while Rashard Lewis had 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.

For the Celtics, Ray Allen put on a valiant effort. The veteran shooting guard scored 23 points and hit half of his 18 shots from the field. Paul Pierce finished with 16 points but struggled for much of the game, finishing just 4-for-13 from the field.

With the win, the Magic advance to face the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James. The Cavs have won all eight of their playoff games this season and appear to be the favorites to win the 2009 NBA championship. The Magic will need another upset to advance to the NBA Finals.

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Magic Beat the Celtics to Advance