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Hedo Türkoğlu was the only healthy Orlando Magic player not to play in Wednesday's loss to the Denver Nuggets, and while the official boxscore for the game lists him as a Did Not Play-Coach's Decision, the real reason for his absence is his sore left hand, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The Magic and Türkoğlu mutually agreed before tipoff that the veteran forward would not play as he is still recovering from a broken left hand suffered in Orlando's opening-night win against Denver on November 2nd.
Türkoğlu underwent surgery to install a plate and metal screws in his hand the day after he broke it, and he returned to the lineup on December 29th against the Toronto Raptors. Since returning, however, he has sustained several hits on the hand. "After the game [Wednesday], he took off the protective wrap on his hand, flexed his hand, unflexed it and looked at it, as if he wasn't sure what it was about to do next," Robbins writes.
Since returning, Türkoğlu is averaging 3.6 points, three rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 20.6 minutes per game. The Istanbul native is shooting just 25 percent in that span.
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