The Final Four for the Western Conference is set! On one side of the bracket, the Minnesota Timberwolves are gearing up to face the defending champions Denver Nuggets. The other side of the bracket has the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder against the Dallas Mavericks. The four best teams in the West will now battle it out for a spot in the Conference Finals.
After the Mavericks clinched their spot in the second round, odds for the upcoming series were released. Unsurprisingly, oddsmakers are favoring the Thunder over the fifth-seeded Mavs. FanDuel currently has OKC at -122, with the Mavs at +100.
The Thunder's path to the playoffs have been pretty easy so far. After coming out of the late-season bloodbath as the first seed in the West, they were matched up against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round. After a rough Game 1 win where they looked shaky, OKC dominated the rest of the way. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren have been excellent for them, playing like veterans.
As for the Mavericks, the road to the second round was not as breezy for them. While they played pretty well in the regular season, they were not on the same level as the top three. Still, they played well enough to get the fifth seed. As for their first-round series, it went to six games. That being said, it never felt like the team was truly in danger.
Mavericks-Thunder playoff preview
How do these the Mavericks and the Thunder stack up against each other? We first look at the season series between the two teams this year. OKC won the series 3-1, with the lone loss coming in a road loss last February. For the most part, all of the games have been close. One of the blowout wins for the Thunder was when both Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic sat for the Mavs.
That being said… there might be some concern for the Thunder. That loss mentioned early was a 146-111 blowout where both teams played at relatively full strength. Doncic and Irving combined for 57 points in the blowout, while Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren were not their usual selves. The only absence for OKC was Jalen Williams, who was out due to an injury.
The theme of the series will be how the Thunder's defense will take down the Mavericks' explosive duo. Irving and Doncic have hit a groove in the postseason. They made the Clippers defense run circles trying to stop them. Even when one of them struggled, the other usually picked the other up. SGA and Luguentz Dort will have their hands full.
The Thunder will also rely on Holmgren to protect the paint for this entire series. While the Thunder are clear favorites to win this series, they cannot rest on their laurels. That February game is a clear reminder that this Mavericks team can and will take their head off if they let up for a split second. The Thunder's maturity will truly be tested in this series. They've been playing like vets in the playoffs: how will they fare against a true veteran team?
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