The Dallas Mavericks are set to play against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in Game 2 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs. They will try to draw the series level at 1-1 by winning.
Dallas is coming off a difficult 117-95 defeat in Game 1, where they struggled to find a rhythm on offense, shooting only 39.3% from the field and 34.3% from beyond the three-point line.
A loss in Game 1 of a series is not uncommon uncommon for the Mavericks as the team has not won the first game of a series since Head Coach Jason Kidd took over in 2021, going 0-5 in these games, according to Stat Muse.
Oklahoma City was the second most effective team on their home court during the NBA’s regular season, achieving a 33-8 record, following only the Boston Celtics.
However, the Mavericks will seek to steal secure a victory as they were one of the top teams in the league when playing away. They concluded the regular season with an overall road record of 25-16, ranking as the sixth-best record of the 30 teams, according to Stat Muse.
Dallas has been led in this postseason by its two star guards. Luka Doncic has averaged 28.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 9.4 assists over the seven games played.
Guard Kyrie Irving has been one of the most effective players in the entire playoffs so far, scoring 25.6 points while also shooting 51.2% from the field and an impressive 47.2% from beyond the three-point line.
Although the Mavericks’ strength in the first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers was their defense, the team struggled to make stops in Game 1 against the Thunder.
Oklahoma City managed to score 117 points while shooting 44.9% from the field and 45.7% from beyond the three-point line, with many of their attempts being uncontested in the second half of the game.
Kidd discussed the defensive struggles in Game 1 and mentioned that the team “didn’t have great balance,” straightforwardly stating that they need to “be better on the defensive end.”
“But there’s going to some breakdowns and you’ve got to be able to minimize those. Just looking at the tape and talking about it today as a team, we can be better. So that’s a good thing,” he added, according to The Mavericks.
A win in Game 2 would help shift the odds back in the Mavericks’ favor as they would gain the home-court advantage before heading back to Dallas for the next two games.
Oklahoma City Head Coach Mark Daigneault spoke after Game 1 about the need for a hot start and said the Mavericks are “a heavyweight matchup,” noting that no team will just give up once the playoffs begin.
“To think that you’re going to go through games or a series when they don’t land on punches is just unrealistic. It’s a long series. We have to be ready for a better version of them coming out,” he said, according to ESPN.
