DALLAS — The Western Conference playoff bracket is now down to four teams, with the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder facing off in a best of seven series beginning Tuesday night for a chance to play the winner of Denver vs. Minnesota on the road to the NBA Finals.
With both franchises just a three-hour drive away from each other, the West semis matchup encapsulates more than just basketball. It’s Braum’s versus Whataburger. The City of Dallas versus Oklahoma Town. It’s about panhandle pride. Dallas faces off against their northern suburb’s only professional sports franchise in a duel that will be fought not only on the court, but in friendships, households, and corporate office hallways across the extended area.
In a perfect follow-up to Dallas closing the door on aging playoff rival Los Angeles, the Mavericks shift their focus on the emerging Thunder. The youngest No. 1 seed in league history features a deep roster led by MVP candidate guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the elder statesman of the Oklahoma City playoff rotation at 25.
Alexander arrived in OKC thanks to Paul George forcing his way to the Clippers in the summer of 2019 and has grown with the franchise as they stockpiled draft picks and assets to build around him. Now in his sixth season, Alexander came in third behind Dallas wunderkind Luka Doncic and former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in scoring but received larger national praise due to OKC making good on their promise by being a wire-to-wire top contender in the west.
In some poetic justice, SGA and Doncic’s season-long award rivalry now brings both of their rosters into the fray, with the added carrot of reaching the conference finals for the victor.
Meet the Thunder
Flanking SGA in the Oklahoma backcourt is third-year swingman Josh Giddey, who shifted into the shooting guard role as the Thunder plugged a bevy of lottery draft picks into their rotation. Giddey’s scoring output was lower than the previous year as the Thunder spread out their offense with the additions of Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren as recent draftees. The frontcourt of Williams (19.1) and Holmgren (16.5) make up the secondary and third scoring options for the Thunder.
With 24-year-old Luguentz Dort rounding out the starting five, the Mavs will be tasked with defending the three-point line from their entire starting unit. The 2023-2024 Thunder was tops in the league for three-point percentage, led by the 23-year-old marksman Williams at 43%.
In a change of pace from the isolation heavy Clippers offense, Oklahoma likes to play fast and spread the ball. Dallas will need to adjust and keep pace, with no room to wait for tired legs.
Family Matters
The biggest imprint as the Mavs overcame the Clippers in round one was the cohesion that the team displayed together, especially between Doncic and his firmly entrenched running mate Kyrie Irving. Any talk of “Can they play together?” vanished well ahead of the playoff series clincher, but Irving proved to be a leader for the team throughout the series and in every press conference.
With Irving recovering his old playoff heroics and taking over games, Doncic, clearly dealing with knee pain that limited him during the series with L.A., could focus on contributing to victories instead of carrying the load alone.
The Mavs collective buy-in saw Doncic’s defensive efforts recognized by national pundits, P.J. Washington ferociously having his teams back, and euphoria for a remade roster that started to gel at the end of the regular season.
While the Luka and Shai storyline may be the main focus of this series, the Mavericks’ astounding fortune of adding Irving to their roster spelled the difference in Dallas beating the Clippers this year after two heartbreaking series losses to L.A. over the last five years. Irving could well be the driving force as the Mavs look to advance to the West Conference finals for the second time in three seasons.
With the Mavs needing to play at a faster pace against OKC, Irving and Doncic’s assist numbers will likely see a boost as the lobs and spot-up threes open up. Los Angeles’ cast of fading stars showed their age in the previous round, but Dallas needn’t fear a similar fate. Their rotation is equipped to push tempo, even though it’s clear that the Thunder will want to try to run the Mavs out of the gym.
Oklahoma gets a ton of credit for a top-heavy young roster, but the Mavericks aren’t that far behind when it comes to their heavy minute players. Irving is the vet of the starting rotation at just 31. Defensive wizard Derrick Jones Jr. turned 27 in mid-February. Doncic, Washington, and Daniel Gafford are all still just 25. The wildest one of all, Luka is younger than Gilgeous-Alexander. So for all the youth for the squad from the Sooner State, Dallas won’t be needing walkers to run the court.
Beginning Tuesday, the Mavericks and Thunder will face off every other day until at least Game 4 on May 13. If the series goes the distance, Game 7 will be played on Monday, May 20th in OKC.
The interstate rivalry is timeless, with the basketball one simmering since the early 2010s teams of a generation ago. With their collective star power and roster control, and Dallas’ superstar duo, this regional matchup could spark the next great NBA feud.
Do you think the Mavericks will topple the West’s top seed? Share your predictions with Irvin on Twitter @Twittirv.