Going into their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Mavericks decided to extend their head coach Jason Kidd’s contract in a multi-year deal signed on Monday. It is unusual timing for sure, but then again Dallas wanted to make sure to keep the man who brought them into the position they’re in now amid rumours of the LA Lakers having interest in him. That kind of distraction is unneeded at this point as the Mavs prepare to make a title run. They sure looked like a team capable of doing so in their series vs the Clippers. But now, a much tougher team in OKC awaits them. The Thunder won the regular season match-up 3-1, however one of those games was on the final day of the regular season when the result didn’t matter. Mavs are 3.5 point dogs in Game 1, they’ve covered just twice in the last 10 meetings.
After last night’s Nuggets defeat vs Minnesota, the Thunder are licking their chops as they now become one of the frontrunners to go all the way, assuming the Timberwolves finish off the defending champs. A total of 8 days have passed since their sweep of the Pelicans in Round 1, so rust could play a part her. But then again, the beauty of this OKC team is the fact that they don’t overthink things and they just play basketball as a young group. They went 33-8 SU in home games this season, going into a series against a team with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving that must give them a massive confidence boost. A lot will depend on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander here, the Mavs were able to shut him down during the regular season, allowing him to average just 22 points per game in 4 meetings.
