The Dallas Mavericks will be well-rested after their stunning sweep of the Lakers while the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted a feisty Grizzlies team in a tough seven game series. Now they meet with a spot in the NBA Finals on the line.
3 Dallas Mavericks vs. 4 Oklahoma City Thunder
Season Series - Dallas leads 2-1
These two teams met three times in the regular season with the Mavericks winning two of three. Ironically, the road team won every game. Both teams boast a dynamic 7 footer who are a nightmare to try and cover. Dirk Nowitzki for the Mavs gave the Lakers fits in the last series. He scored big and also set up open threes for his teammates when he was double teamed. Meanwhile Durant for the Thunder is coming off a good series vs. the Grizzlies with a huge 39 point game 7. He led the league in scoring this year. He can shoot from the perimeter and also get to the line. Looking ahead to this series, while both guys will be tough, it seems the Mavericks have a better chance to contain Durant than the Thunder do of containing Nowitzki. That is because Shawn Marion who will get most of the time on Durant, is a good defender and has the length to bother Durant on his shot. Meanwhile the Thunder bigs can't guard Nowitzki and if they go small, he can shoot over the top.
Another edge for the Mavericks is that they seem to have better chemistry, with everyone being on the same page. Everyone understands that Nowitzki needs to get the ball and he will open things up for everyone else. On the Thunder, too often Durant will go long stretches without touching the ball and there are too manly possessions where Russell Westbrook will just dribble the ball and shoot without anyone else touching it. Not surprisingly, Dallas was second in the league in assists while Oklahoma City was just 24th.
One edge for the Thunder is their youth and athleticism. In these playoffs generally younger, more athletic teams have fared better than older, veteran teams. The Thunder will need to use their speed and athleticism, especially point guard Russell Westbrook, who should be able to take advantage of the slower Jason Kidd.
The Mavs boast one of the best benches in the league. Jason Terry, J.J. Barea, Peja Stojakovic, and Brendan Haywood all give them good minutes off the bench and the first three can all be big scorers in stretches. That fire power off the bench was a huge factor vs. the Lakers and should be again here. Other than James Harden, the Thunder don't get a lot of production off the bench, certainly in terms of scoring.
Overall the Mavericks have more advantages than do the Thunder and all that equals...
Prediction: Mavericks in 7
Frank Leal - I have a B.A. from Rutgers University. I always enjoyed writing papers and articles, especially about sports. I took a sports writing ...
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