From Turkey with Love

Ball.

According to Hedo Turkoglu, that's all that was needed to be said. With a season high in points and shot attempts, the Turkey native used a single - and awkward - word to sum up exactly what the difference was in his best game as a Raptor.

Right from the start of things, Raptors fans saw a very aggressive Turkoglu. The 50 million dollar man didn't hesitate to put up shots, nor make a play for his teammates. And what about his 4 dunks? Turk looked like he was reliving his younger days, and both his teammates and him had fun with it. The aggressive and decisive manner in which he was playing with also allowed him to earn some respect from the refs (who played their part in helping him reach a team high 9 free throw attempts).

Yet perhaps Hedo forgot to give credit to another factor. The one other missing ingredient that allows Turkoglu to be his usual self:

Confidence.

The man was brimming with it last night, and it showed. There were no signs of the hesitance that's made him predictable and ineffective at times. Much has been made of Turk shying away from the action or simply going through the motions. Yet against the Knicks, it looked like the ball was actually drawn to him.

The scoring, the rebounding, the playmaking. Those are the reasons why he was brought into this organization. And if he can bring that kind of level of play night in and night out, then the sky is the limit for this Raptors squad.

Ball on Turk. Ball on.