OKC Thunder vie to usurp Mavericks on West ladder: game preview

The OKC Thunder hold the longest current win streak in the West, as they host MVP candidate Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Gameday breaks down the match.

The OKC Thunder are the hottest team in the West right now winning five games in a row with three of those matches being on the road.

Their record is 28-19 and a win over the Dallas Mavericks could boost them up to the sixth spot as the Mavericks are 28-17 although they hold the fifth spot while the Rockets sit on the sixth rung also with 28 wins.

Dallas’ Luka Doncic was just named an All-Star starter after an impressive second year in the NBA so far. He along with Seth Curry and Kristaps Porzingis were the main contributors in their loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday.

The Mavericks have won six of their last ten matches and are fifth in offensive rating, scoring an average of 116.2 points per game.

On the other hand, the OKC Thunder is 12th in defensive rating allowing 107.8 points per game. So while the Mavericks are a great offensive team, the Thunder are a great defensive team.

Recently, the Thunder have shown huge improvements in their shooting and efficiency. This is despite being without Steven Adams, Nerlens Noel, Abdel Nader, Terrance Ferguson, and Danilo Gallinari throughout a period of their last five wins.

They beat the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday 113-109 with seven players scoring in double digits for the second consecutive game.

The battle between the young guards Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be exciting to watch. Both drafted in 2018, they will no doubt create a lot of great conversations as they continue to develop and shine in their careers.

With that being said let’s have a look at the keys to the game.