TEAM RECORDS: Oklahoma City Thunder (47-19) vs Dallas Mavericks (36-30)
SEASON SERIES: Oklahoma City Thunder (3-1)
RECORD OVER LAST 10 GAMES: Oklahoma City Thunder (6-4) vs Dallas Mavericks (5-5)
KEY MATCHUP: Kevin Durant vs Dirk Nowitzki?
PREVIEW
The Thunder and Mavericks will meet in a rematch of last years Western Conference Finals.
This isn’t the same Dallas Mavericks team that made a championship run in 20122. Gone are defensive staples Tyson Chandler and Deshawn Stevenson, as well as sixth man J.J Barea and then injured starter Caron Butler.
Dallas got a lot thinner in its frontcourt this season. Against a team as solid down low as the Thunder are (Perkins, Ibaka, Durant, Collison), that may pose a big problem.
The Mavericks will look to use a lot of the 2-3 defense that gave the Miami Heat quite a bit of trouble in last years Finals. The Thunder love to run a fast-paced up-tempo offense, so playing the 2-3 will have the potential to slow down players like Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
Oklahoma City enters this series splitting its last 14 games of the season (7-7). Momentum is a big thing in the postseason, so one can only wonder if the Thunders recent struggles will continue into this series with the Mavericks.
As basketball fans, we can only hope to see more dramatic endings like the one we saw earlier this season between these two squads.
Will the defending NBA champions be eliminated in the first round this year?
THE THUNDER WILL WIN THIS SERIES IF Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins can contain Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk has been a tad inconsistent in recent weeks, but last years postseason was proof enough that he can turn it on at the flick of a switch. If the Thunder can slow down Notwizki on the offensive end, the rest will fall into place. The duo has had success during the regular season against Dirk, but last years Western Conference finals was a whole other story.
THE MAVERICKS WILL WIN THIS SERIES IF they can get solid production out of their point guard position. Jason Kidd is 39 years old and nearing the end of his career, but Dallas is going to need more than his 6 points and 5 assists to keep pace with the scoring machine and ultra quick Russell Westbrook. The same can be said for guards Jason Terry, Delonte West and Rodrique Beaubois.
FUN FACT: Kevin Durant joins Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlin, Neil Johnston, George Mikan, Bob McAdoo and George Gervin as the only players in NBA history to win at least 3 NBA scoring titles in a row.
PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Dallas at Oklahoma City: Sat., April 28, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
GAME 2: Dallas at Oklahoma City, Mon., April 30, 8:30 p.m., TNT
GAME 3: Oklahoma City at Dallas, Thu., May 3, 8:30 p.m., TNT
GAME 4: Oklahoma City at Dallas, Sat., May 5, 6:30 p.m., TNT
GAME 5: Dallas at Oklahoma City, Mon., May 7, TBD
GAME 6: Oklahoma City at Dallas, Thu., May 10, TBD
GAME 7: Dallas at Oklahoma City, Sat., May 12, TBD
FINAL STAFF PREDICTIONS
Editor Christopher Walder: Oklahoma City Thunder in 6
Writer Jason Leung: Oklahoma City Thunder in 7
Writer John Armstrong: Oklahoma City Thunder in 5
Writer Joe Nardone: Oklahoma City Thunder in 6
Writer Mike Owens: Oklahoma City Thunder in 7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdKf-2QoNXw
Christopher Walder is a sports blogger and lead editor for Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter @WalderSports