As if squaring off against Victor Wembanyama to start his first season with the OKC Thunder wasn't hard enough, Aday Mara faces arguably an even more difficult matchup heading into Thursday night: Nikola Jokic.
For Oklahoma City's home opener, they'll be playing host to the Denver Nuggets, a club that many believe has the best player in the entire association manning the middle in Jokic.
The three-time MVP is a tough test for anyone he squares off against. For a rookie like Mara, it should be considered the toughest way for him to experience his first regular-season home game.
Now, while Mara was able to hold his own against the likes of Wemby during his 12 minutes of action this past Tuesday, Jokic is a completely different animal.
Not only is he a lethal interior presence, but he's also a sniper from beyond the arc (has shot 39.9 percent from deep over the last two seasons) and is genuinely one of the best passers the game has ever seen.
Needless to say, Mara will certainly have his hands full Thursday, and should be cursing the schedule makers for having him kick off his first two games in the league against the two best players at his respective position.
Talk about being thrown into the deep end!
Aday Mara showed serious defensive promise against Wemby
Hopefully, Mara's defensive chops from game one can find a way to carry on over into this game two matchup against Jokic, because, as suggested earlier, he showed some serious promise.
Though his on-court time may have been somewhat limited, his impact was certainly felt.
By the time the Thunder pulled away with their 116-104 revenge win over San Antonio, Mara had found himself boasting a quietly impressive stat line of seven points, two rebounds, and a block while boasting a stellar 107.7 defensive rating.
What's more impressive is the fact that his lone block came against Wembanyama himself in quite an exhilarating fashion, and held the Spurs wunderkind to 0-for-4 shooting from the field when in one-on-one sets.
Now, Mara being as involved against the Nuggets as he was out in San Antonio is far from a guarantee. After all, his double-digit minutes may have simply come as a result of Isaiah Hartenstein getting himself into early foul trouble.
Instead of a repeat, coach Mark Daigneault's personal plan may still be to gradually ease the big man into NBA action as he did with his fellow rookie, Bennett Stirtz.
However, if he's given a similar role to the one he had against the Spurs, Mara has already instilled a level of confidence that he's capable of rising to the occasion when called upon.
Hopefully, he'll be able to do so again in a head-to-head with the beast of a big in Jokic.
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