OKC Thunder: 3 keys to evening series versus Mavericks

OKC Thunder key number 3:  But— don’t forget about the defense

Both of these teams are feasting defensively especially of late. The Thunder possesses the better seasonal defensive ranking having climbed into the top 10 whereas the Mavericks seasonal rank is 24th.

So while the last match between these clubs seemed like an outlier – recent events might suggest otherwise. Dallas finally got everyone healthy while the Thunder youth brigade began meshing. Both lineups got extended minutes with the Thunder, in particular, playing more because they had five back-to-back sets from February 6th through to the break.

Notably, from February 14th to the current day, the Mavericks possess the fourth-ranked defense while the Thunder rank fifth — so yeah that last meeting was more likely an omen of who each team is defensively.

As great as Al Horford has been let’s hope Mark Daigneault gives the B2B starting crew some burn if nothing else for the litmus test.

All stats courtesy of basketball reference or NBA Stats.

Game specifics:Records:

• Thunder: 15-21
• Mavericks:19-16

The Venue:  Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

Tipoff:  9:00 PM ET  | 8:00 PM CT

TV: Fox Sports  Oklahoma | NBA League Pass

Radio: WWLS 98.1 FM OKC

Odds:

Injuries:

OKC Thunder:

• Hamidou Diallo missed the last four games with a groin injury and is out again.
• Josh Hall is sidelined by left knee soreness that will keep him out Thursday.
• Following a procedure to correct George Hill’s thumb injury the team projected a return date of March 9th. However, as the team returns from the break, he’s listed as out again.
• Trevor Ariza (personal) out indefinitely

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Mavericks:

• The NBA injury report listed Nate Hinton as the only player out for the Mavericks citing him on G-League assignment however the Mavs are out of the playoffs so it’s likely he’ll be made available soon just as Tyrell Terry was on Wednesday’s report.

History:

Over the course of history, these teams met 161 times in the regular-season. The OKC Thunder have the advantage of winning 83 games while the Mavericks have won on 78 times occasions.

Last year the squads met twice and each was victorious once. This is the second game between the clubs in this 2020-21 campaign. The initial meeting was a defensive slugfest with neither team breaking the century mark and the Mavs netting the 87-78 win.

The clubs will play once more with the final meeting occurring on March 29th.

Enjoy the match and be sure to check tomorrow for the player grades and three takeaways.