FOXSportsFlorida.com checks in with color analyst Jeff Turner to get the latest on the Magic. You can follow Turner on Twitter at @JTurnerMagic.
FOX SPORTS FLORIDA: The best news last week for the Magic was the announcement that Shaquille O'Neal will be inducted March 27 into their Hall of Fame. How much of a positive step is it for this organization in mending whatever fences might have still been needed to be mended after his departure to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996?
JEFF TURNER: I'm happy about it. I might be a little bit biased in this whole thing because I played with Shaq. And to me, I've always felt like he put our whole organization on a different trajectory, just a different path. We were an expansion team just fighting for recognition around the league. All of a sudden, we get this young, powerful, dynamic guy, and everything changes. We travel differently. All of a sudden, we're in a conversation about playoffs. We're better. All of us who played with him were better on the floor because he was there. I just think it's well-deserved that we recognize him because everybody who came after him, he kind of got it started for us. So it's pretty important that we're able to recognize him for this Hall of Fame thing. It's the right thing to do.
All the stuff about mending fences -- I think it was interesting last year (the Magic's 25th anniversary) about bringing all the guys back. Whether it was Penny (Hardaway) or Tracy (McGrady), nobody leaves an organization on great terms unless they're traded or something. Usually there's something that precipitates it. It always seems like there's bad blood. But having those guys come back and really feel a part of the organization is important. That's what I want for Shaq too.
FSF: When he attended a home game against Golden State in November, the response when he was shown on the overhead video board seated courtside was overwhelmingly positive. Isn't that an indication of time healing all wounds?
JT: I think so. The people who have been around this long hopefully realize what an important of who we were he was in those four years. Things are said, but people realize things happen. I just hope that part of this is he will begin to again think of himself as a former Orlando Magic player.
FSF: Back on the court, the Magic struggled to score in the fourth quarters of their losses at Milwaukee and Boston. How symptomatic is this of a young team without a clear-cut go-to guy?
JT: I think JB (coach James Borrego) said it after the game that he saw enough positives and we're moving in the right direction, but there's still some things. You've got a rookie (Elfrid Payton) and a second-year player (Victor Oladipo) who are really your primary ball-handlers. So they're the guys who get everybody in things, and there were some decisions that you've got to learn from. You've got to go through that experience. I like what they're doing. They're getting better. It's just tough. And the other part of it is we're playing teams -- if you look at that road trip, Indiana, Milwaukee and Boston are all playing for something. The games are really important. They have playoff implications for all three of them. So there's that sense of urgency that maybe we don't have.
FSF: Beginning Tuesday night, the Magic have four consecutive games against Western Conference teams, with only the Denver Nuggets not in playoff contention. Is there any reason you can pinpoint as to why the balance of power has been so pronounced for so long in the West?
JT: There are a lot of very good players out in the Western Conference. That's a big part of it. If you look at what we have coming up, Houston and what they've done with their team, (James) Harden's an MVP candidate. Dallas is always right there because they're so good, the veteran players and everything. Portland's another good, young, up-and-coming team with good veteran players. You see a lot of that in the Western Conference. I don't know if it's because in the East, we're getting all the early draft picks, right (laughs)? We've got a lot of young players in the Eastern Conference who have potential to be stars.
FSF: Speaking of Portland's veterans, Friday night marks the return of Arron Afflalo to Orlando for the first time. How closely have you followed what he has done since the Magic traded him to Denver on draft night for Evan Fournier?
JT: Just keeping up with the numbers and things like that. I thought that was a great pick-up for Portland. Obviously now, with Wes Matthews out, you've got a guy who's a proven 2 guard in the league and a really good defender that you can just plug right into that lineup. Maybe you don't lose as much as they would have had he not been there.
Arron's such a great pro. I really enjoyed getting to know him and watching him work. He spends a lot of time working on his craft. I thought he was a good mentor to some of the young players we have.
FSF: The NCAA Tournament starts this week. How hot of a topic of conversation is this in your meetings, airplane flights and the like?
JT: Yeah, we're following it. What's interesting is I'm following it a lot more than I think I ever have. For whatever reason, I have more time to spend watching basketball. And I'm really fascinated -- watching Kentucky, what are they going to do, are they going to be able to run the table? There are some interesting teams. One of my former players that I coached at Lake Highland (a prep school in Orlando) is a backup point guard at North Carolina (Joel Barry), so I've been watching them. I'm sure we'll all fill out brackets so we'll have bragging rights on those if we pick the best one.
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
