Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals series between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder is set for Tuesday night. Both teams were extremely impressive in the First Round, and it should set up for a great series.
Dallas comes into this series having dispatched the Los Angeles Clippers with a great performance in the First Round of the playoffs. The Mavericks are the number five seed in the Western Conference, and they pulled off a slight upset in Round 1.
Oklahoma City had no trouble getting past the New Orleans Pelicans in the First Round as it was a clean sweep in four games. The Thunder should be well rested ahead of this matchup, and that should give them some energy.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are 3.5-point favorites in the series opener, and the over/under line is set at 217.5 total points.
Mavericks Must Make Shots
If the Dallas Mavericks are going to have any shot at winning this game, they are going to have to shoot the ball extremely well. Luka Doncic did not shoot the ball well from deep in the First Round, and that is going to be a huge key in this series.
Doncic is still averaging close to a triple double in the playoffs, and Kyrie Irving has provided a ton of scoring as well. That duo is as good as any in the NBA, and they will have to set the tone for the Mavericks to have success.
Getting defensive stops has been a challenge for this team in the past, but they held the Los Angeles Clippers to 101 points or less in all four of their wins in the First Round.
Thunder Playing With Energy
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an extremely young team, and they have been playing with a ton of energy on both ends of the floor. Oklahoma City has proven that they can win high-scoring affairs, but they have also been solid on defense in the playoffs.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 27.2 points per game so far in the postseason, and he will be looking to set the tone in this game. Oklahoma City does a great job of following their leader, and Chet Holmgren is also having a huge postseason.
This Thunder team will be playing in front of a great home environment in Game 1 of this series, and that should allow them to get off to a great start.
OKC Wins Game 1
Dallas is coming into this game with momentum as their two wins over the Los Angeles Clippers were impressive. The Mavericks have been playing some good defense in the playoffs, but it’s much harder to slow down the Thunder.
Oklahoma City could show some rust early on in this game, but it won’t take them long to feed off of the energy of the crowd. This Thunder team will be looking to make a statement in the series opener, and that’s what is going to happen.
Bet the Oklahoma City Thunder -3.5 as they take Game 1 of this series with the Dallas Mavericks.
