Ordinarily, I'd put something like this announcement in today's news post and just be done with it. But this one deserves its own thread:

Hedo Turkoglu has made Orlando Magic history.

The NBA named Turkoglu the Eastern Conference Player of the Week. From the press release:

Turkoglu, who earned his second consecutive Player of the Week honor, guided Orlando to a 3-0 week, posting averages of 24.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists. Turkoglu recorded a season-high-tying eight assists on Feb. 2 in a 121-115 win at Indiana and led or tied in assists in all three of Orlando’s games last week. The Magic sit atop the Southeast Division with a 31-18 record.

John Denton notes it's the first time in Magic franchise history that one of its players has earned Player of the Week honors in two consecutive weeks. Shaquille O'Neal never did it. Penny Hardaway never did it. Tracy McGrady never did it. Nope. It's Hedo.

Does anyone want to argue he doesn't deserve a spot on the All-Star team now? There's a chance he'll still make it, though. Starting forward Kevin Garnett, the leading vote-getter in fan balloting, has missed over a week with a strained abdominal muscle. He may not be able to play in the game, in which case David Stern will select an injury replacement. Turk has as good a shot as anyone at taking that spot, if Ticket indeed chooses to sit-out the All-Star game.

Let us commemorate this momentous achievement by honoring Hedo... with YouTube Videos. Call it Hedo Turkoglu's Greatest Hits.

My favorite is his game-winner against Boston. What a game that was:

There's also this pretty sweet alley-oop to Dwight Howard from a visit to New York earlier this season. How did he even see him? Wow.

There are more, but I don't want to break your scroll-wheel by embedding too many movies. Here are others for your consideration:

• Game-winning, turnaround jumper against Seattle, 2006/2007.
• Alley-oop to Dwight Howard to beat the Spurs, 2006/2007 season.
• Game-winning jumper against Chicago, 2007/2008 season.

Post your favorite Hedo memories in the comments.

Jameer Nelson elevates for a layup over the matador defense of Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson.
Photo by Ray Amati, NBAE/Getty Images

After a sluggish start, the Magic came out strong against the Knicks and pulled off the 112-102 victory, their fourth straight win, all on the road. Way to go, guys! Here's the boxscore.

The Magic were an atrocious 4-of-17 from downtown in the first half, but they stuck with their game plan and continued to shoot the long ball. Stan Van Gundy, in his post-game comments, said his philosophy is "do what we do," also mentioning the phrase "don't panic." I get the feeling that this team would have panicked last season, even with Grant Hill's veteran presence on the floor.

The player of the game, by far, was Jameer Nelson. While the rest of the team clanked jumpers early, Nelson attacked the porous Knicks defense for easy lay-ins. He scored or assisted on 22 of the Magic's first 26 points before being replaced by Carlos Arroyo with a little over a minue remaining in the first quarter. Nelson's early penetration forced the Knicks to try a zone defense in the second half, which Nelson torched with at least three alley-oops to Dwight Howard, who also grabbed 20 rebounds.

The defense was also key in this game. Keith Bogans frustrated Jamal Crawford and forced him to commit six turnovers, including three palming violations. And Adonal Foyle did exactly what he was brought in to do: bang under the boards and defend big guys down low. He and Howard played significant minutes together for the first time this season, and it proved to be effective in neutralizing Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry, the Knicks' power players. Randolph managed to score 23 points, but made just 9 of 21 shots. Based on that, I'd like to see the two big fellas play more often together.

It's worth noting that Rashard Lewis hit dagger-in-the-heart three-pointers for the third straight game. Following a timeout and facing a one-point deficit late in the third quarter, Sweet Lew hit a three from the right wing. A minute later, with the game tied, he nailed another three to give the Magic the lead, which they never relinquished. When we signed Rashard, we faced plenty of criticism, and not only for the size of his contract. He was labeled a guy who couldn't carry a team in the clutch. Where are his critics now, I wonder? Once is a surprise. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a trend. Let's hope it's one that doesn't go out of style.

We may have gotten off to a slow start, but we got the win, which is what counts in the end. And we did so with four starters scoring 20-plus points. When that happens, we'll be a tough team to beat. See you tomorrow night in Orlando against the Suns. I'll be in attendance, and I'm excited.

I'm pressed for time and can't write up a full preview, but here are the basics for tonight's game. It's on Sun Sports, so you should be able to catch it on TV.

	vs.
2-1		4-1
Madison Square Garden
7:30 PM
Sun Sports HD
Probable starters:
Stephon Marbury	PG	Jameer Nelson
Jamal Crawford	SG	Keith Bogans
Quentin Richardson	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Zach Randolph	PF	Rashard Lewis
Eddy Curry	C	Dwight Howard

25 words or fewer: The Magic look to sweep their four-game road trip by beating the Knicks and their monster frontcourt.

Know your enemy: The Knicks' top four players -- Marbury, Crawford, Randolph, and Curry -- each scored 20+ points in a victory over Denver earlier this week. In other words, they're not as bad as you might think.

Posting an Toasting, SBN's Knicks site, has a hilarious Magic preview up. A sample:

#5, Keyon Dooling: Keyon likes to intimidate his opponents by bringing a live female cow onto the court and sucking a gallon of milk straight from the udder, and then yelling "THAT S--- WASN'T EVEN PASTEURIZED".