We’re five days into this Boomtown Hoops adventure and our team has already started producing some outstanding Thunder content. The following is a breakdown of the news, analysis, and podcasts we published last week.
Thunder News
Dillon Young on the Thunder signing Lu Dort: “Dort has been such a break in the inevitable Thunder rebuild. While playing on a 2-Way contract, he appeared in 29 games for the Thunder. The team is 16-5 when he starts. Go ahead. Run out your front door and let the neighborhood know. LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.”
Weston Shepherd with the Thunder’s full Orlando schedule & TV Guide: “We got our first look at the Thunderโs path forward on Friday night, as the NBA released its full schedule for Big Brother Orlando (starting July 30). There are two nationally-televised games that we know of. Mike Cage and his co-host will have all eight on Fox Sports Oklahoma. Prepare yourself for brunch hoops, matinees, and flexibility on August 14. Nobody wanted to commit to anything specific 48 days from right now, you know?”
Weston Shepherd on the Thunder signing Devon Hall to a 2-way contract: “The 6โ5โณ guard was drafted by the Thunder with the 53rd pick in the 2018 Draft, and appeared in five games for about 20 total minutes of action this season before being waived in December. He averaged 1 PPG on 20% shooting in those appearances. Those numbers donโt mean anything, honestly. I just felt like this story was pretty letter-heavy.”
Analysis
Evan Riggs on the staying power of Luguentz Dort: “A consensus top-30 recruit in the 2018 high school class, Dort was a star in his one year of college at Arizona State. He set a Sun Devil freshman scoring record in his debut, scoring 28 points to start his collegiate career. He ended that season on the All-Pac-12 Second Team, Pac-12 All-Defense Team, Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, and as the Pac-12 Freshman of the year. He averaged 16.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Just five days before the Draft, most mock drafts had Dort slated either in the late first-round or early second round. One year later, itโs clear the 6-foot-2 guard deserved to be drafted at least that high.”
Weston Shepherd takes a look inside Lu’s wallet: “With Lu Dort signing a Scottie Pippen contract 4-year, $5.4 million deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder, itโs time to do that thing where we discuss what it means for the team, and the player, financially. Super nosy stuff, but thatโs what blogging is all about. So, letโs take a peek in Luโs wallet. He wonโt mind.”
Mitchell Jones predicts the outcome of all 8 regular season games in Orlando: “To much delight, the Thunder open bubble season against the Jazz. Coming back from the 3+ month hiatus that was kicked off in a strange night against the same team, the Thunder wonโt let Utah win this game. OKC starts 1-0 in whatย couldย be the game with the most at stake in the final seeding.ย [1-1 vs UTAH this season]”
The Boomtown Hoops team discusses all things Orlando/bubble in our first Conference Room, Five Minutes round-table: “Steve loves the rides and the characters are great, but the thing that truly captivates him, and keeps him from wanting to leave the park, is โthe food, mate!โ Adams runs around like a kid in a candy store, shoveling down the parkโs obscure treats like pork nacho cheese fries, corn dog nuggets, and pineapple bread from Kona Cafe. Alas, he is ultimately found at Victoria and Albertโs chefโs table of the Grand Floridian, enjoying a double portion of the $200 12-course meal.”
Uncontested Podcast
Lu Dort Emergency Pod!: “Jacob and Justin record an emergency episode talking about the signing of Lu Dort to a full-time, multi-year NBA contract!”
Boomtown Hoops Announcement, Dort Contract Details, & Vince Carter Memories: “Justin and Tayler are joined by special guests Weston and Dillon from Boomtown Hoops! The guys discuss the transition from Up the Thunder to Boomtown Hoops, how our partnership came about, and the exciting new Discord community for Thunder fans. Then we actually talk some hoops including: Lu Dortโs contract details, ranking the best/worst value Thunder contracts, concerns about the bubble bursting in Orlando?, and last but not least share our favorite Vince Carter memories.”
Thunder Schedule + Mail Bag Q’s!: “Jacob, Tayler and Kamiar join the podcast to break down the Thunderโs seeding game schedule, project their record, break down BoomTownHoops.Comโs latest article โConference Room, Five Minutes,โ and take questions from theย Discordย chat!”
Editor’s Note
Weston Shepherd welcomes you to Boomtown Hoops: “Letโs get straight to the point, shall we? I know youโre busy people. Up The Thunder (@UpTheThunder) is changing its name to Boomtown Hoops. Different name, same logo. Same three guys who started this mess in 2014 (+ new friends). Think of it like Ron Artest becoming Metta World Peace, or Prince legally changing his name to ฦฌฬตฬฌฬ. Itโs a mid-life crisis evolution.”
Shop at Boomtown Hoops!: “The following tees are available for pre-sale until July 19 โ giving our incredible partners at Dupree Sports in Stillwater enough time to print and deliver them as the NBA season resumes. They range between $12 and $15 dollars apiece and we hope thatโs a price point you can justify regardless of whatโs going on outside.”
