In the first leg of an Oklahoma City doubleheader at the Paycom Center on Tuesday, the Blue's Buddy Boeheim continued his streak of making six threes to three straight in a 107-103 loss to the Birmingham Squadron. It's been an impressive stretch of games for the Thunder prospect. Boeheim connected on six threes for the Blue in Friday's 98-94 win against the Mexico City Capitanes. Then, he connected on six treys in a 129-105 win against the Osceola Magic.
While Boeheim reached his impressive feat for the third time in three tries in a losing effort, Blue head coach Kameron Woods reminded reporters his game extends beyond the three-point arc. He also credited his prospect's shot selection and efficiency.
“He's certainly a great shooter. He's a great playmaker,” Woods said. “The thing that I love about him is he doesn't force very many threes. He doesn't force them. He shoots the ones that come to him, and if there's two [guys] on the ball, he makes the right pass almost every time. So, that's been really impressive, and then, [he's] a high-IQ player.
“He gets marked as a bad defender a lot of times, but he's a great shell defender. He's a great communicator. He really helps us on both ends of the floor, and not just offensively,” Woods concluded.
For Woods, Boeheim's incredible streak of scoring 18 threes in three games is a testament to his off-the-ball work and a repetitive shooting regimen.
“He's improved a ton since he got here in his movement and helping himself create windows, is what we call it, for the ball. So, he's always putting himself in windows for the ball,” Woods added. “He's turned into a really good runner in transition. He gets a lot of them there. And then, he works on his craft. The guy's in the gym all the time. It's no secret he makes shots. He's in there all the time. He has his routine. He's a real pro.”
Buddy Boeheim drains 18 threes in three games for the Blue
Buddy Boeheim (35) warms up for a game against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center
Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
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Buddy Boeheim and the Blue set the stage for the Thunder's NBA Cup quarter-final matchup against the Mavericks. After the game, Boeheim revealed what he was doing in preparation, leading to an electric three-game shooting stretch from deep.
“I think it's just staying with it, staying focused, just continuing to get reps in on off days after practice, whatever it is I do,” Boeheim said. “Just a couple of things focusing on my shot, or my follow through, a little more. Not rushing my shot, just staying in it.”
Boeheim has connected on 18-of-35 (51.4%) attempts from deep in his last three outings combined.