Tuesday, the OKC Thunder will be playing host to the Dallas Mavericks for game one of the Emirates NBA Cup Knockout Round.
Though heavily marketed as a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference Semifinals, a series in which Oklahoma City was downed 4-2, in actuality, the two title hopefuls have already taken part in such a happening this season.
Unfortunately, the results remained the same, as the Mavs exited the November 17 bout with a 121-119 win.
Now, under the bright lights of the league's second annual In-Season Tournament, the Thunder will have yet another crack at trying to avenge their cut-short playoff run. In order for them to do so, they will likely need to focus on one truly crippling disparity that led to their demise against Dallas last month.
Thunder must limit second-chance opportunities for Mavericks
As was the case throughout last season's playoff series, OKC's matchup against Dallas earlier in the year was highly competitive with an up in the air outcome until the final buzzer sounded.
The Mavericks, of course, ended up coming away from both triumphant, but, at least with their latest face-off, there was one clear factor that aided in their slim margin of victory.
During last month's contest, Jason Kidd's squad managed to take full advantage of Oklahoma City's lackluster size, as they were just recently starting to go through the throes of not having Chet Holmgren in the lineup, while still being without other bigs in Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams.
In turn, the Thunder were found rolling out a rotation with 6-foot-5 Jalen Williams serving as their primary big while going up against vertically superior centers like Daniel Gafford (6-foot-10, 265 pounds), Dwight Powell (6-foot-10, 240 pounds), and Maxi Kleber (6-foot-10, 240 pounds).
Because of this, it should come as no surprise that not only were the Mavericks completely dominant on the boards (pulled down 53 rebounds compared to just 29), but, more importantly, they were elite in the second-chance points department. Of their 121 points scored, 24 came from second-chance opportunities.
To put this into perspective, the Thunder registered just seven on the night in this fashion.
Considering the game's final score was decided by a mere two points, it goes without saying that this area of play was a major deciding factor in Dallas coming away victorious.
With this in mind, Oklahoma City should be looking to even the playing field in the rebounding and second-chance departments. What bodes well for them is the fact that, unlike last time, they'll have more size on their side with Hartenstein back in the fold.
Since his debut back on November 20, the 7-footer has found himself pulling down 12.8 rebounds per game and has been a true difference-maker down in the paint and on the defensive end.
Hopefully, his addition to essentially the same lineup as last month's matchup against Dallas will be enough to flip the switch on the second-chance opportunities that wound up crushing the Thunder.