OKC Thunder: 3 individual matchups to watch during first half of schedule
By Mark Nilon
Matchup to watch No. 2) Luguentz Dort vs. James Harden (December 23rd)
The first matchup of the 2020-21 season for the OKC Thunder comes against the last team they played in the 2019-20 season — Houston Rockets.
Not only could this game be considered somewhat of a redemption game for Oklahoma City, but it’s also a “heat check” game of sorts for second-year guard, Luguentz Dort.
During last year’s first-round series against Houston, the Arizona State-product broke onto the scene under the bright lights of the NBA Bubble.
After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Dort signed a two-way contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder. During his rookie campaign, he managed to carve out a solid 22.8 minutes per game role with the team during the regular season, where he averaged 6.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game on 39 percent shooting from the floor and 30 percent shooting from deep.
Surprisingly, when facing off against the likes of superstar James Harden in the postseason, Dort wound up being the thunderbolt star that OKC fans fell in love with.
Through six games played (all starts) the 21-year-old averaged 12.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, one assist, and one block per game.
However, it was during the team’s must-win games 6 and 7 where he seemingly shined the brightest.
Ending the year off on a stellar final stat-line of 30 points, four rebounds, and one block on 48 percent shooting from the floor and 50 percent shooting from deep while going up against 2018’s league MVP is certainly a great way for the undrafted rookie to go out.
In this opening-day matchup, the fan-favorite to have a breakout campaign this year will look to prove that this level of production has managed to roll into 2020-21 as well.