OKC Thunder: 3 keys to evening series versus Mavericks
As the OKC Thunder return to complete the second half of their calendar it will undoubtedly be a night of reflection. After all, it was precisely a year ago tonight that Rudy Gobert’s positive test for COVID-19 brought the match versus the Jazz to a halt just prior to tipoff. Within hours the NBA shut down and the world had abruptly changed.
March 11th, is engrained in my mind because of the above events and the easy date recall is likely because it all went down at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
While the season resumed, albeit, in a bubble, another question that I’ve often pondered is how differently the 2019-20 campaign would’ve been if the pandemic never happened. Maybe the end result would’ve been precisely the same. But, think of the screaming fans and those homecourt advantages that could’ve played a huge factor.
If the OKC Thunder had beat the Rockets for example, would Sam Presti have made precisely the same moves this offseason? Those are questions that we’ll never know the answers to but will remain atop my list of what if’s for the foreseeable future.
Instead, the events played out as they did, the miracle season ended with a Game 7 loss, and Sam Presti began the ‘resiliency’ rebuild.
3 Keys for OKC Thunder to even season series versus Mavericks
The overachieving OKC Thunder return from the break with the trade deadline looming and with it likely more roster shifts. Cornerstone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a handful of returnees will undoubtedly be in reflection mode.
Tonight’s opponent, the Dallas Mavericks arrive having delivered the worst loss to the Thunder this season (78-89) and are one of the hottest teams. They’ve won four games in a row and 10 of the last 12. Only the Suns and Nets rival that current hot streak.
Dallas was among four teams who returned last night to make-up one of their first-half postponed dates. They defeated the Spurs with Luka Doncic dropping a triple-double and Kristaps Porzingis delivering a double-double.
Even playing in a back-to-back set this Mavericks team will be a challenging opponent so let’s look at the three keys for the OKC Thunder to even the series versus the Mavericks.