I think the series depends on how well Westbrook plays. Westbrook has the ability to destroy the Mavericks with his speed and there is not one player on the Mavs that can guard him. If he can make his shots and distribute the ball, I think the Mavs are fcked. Think of Chris Paul 07-08 playoff series vs the Mavs.
I normally have a prediction, but I don't for this series. A few facts I find pertinent:
1. Dallas ball movement and team efficiency have been incredible so far.
2. OKC is very young and athletic
3. Ibaka is 6'9.25", Perkins is 6'9", Dallas has 3 legit 7 footers.
4. Dallas' zone will make penetration difficult for Westbrook
5. Harden will have alot of opportunities in this series
That's all I got.
I really can't predict anything, cause Dirk only played 1 game of the 3 this season against OKC (got hurt early in 2nd game, was still hurt in 3rd game)
I think the series depends on how well Westbrook plays. Westbrook has the ability to destroy the Mavericks with his speed and there is not one player on the Mavs that can guard him.
It's true, no one on the Mavs can keep Westbrook in front of them in man to man iso defense. But Dallas really makes up for their lack of perimeter foot speed with 48 minutes of elite shot blocking, as well as great help defense. And then there is also the option of Dallas going zone.
Dallas beat lakers because lakers suck on rotations, so they leave their shooters wide open. The same will not happen against OKH. The Thunders will blow Dallas out in the opening game.
Been seeing this a lot and I did some number crunching.
In the Dal/OKC series meeting Dallas shot 47% from the field and 36.7% from three.
In the Lakers series they shot 49.5% and 45.2% from 3. Without that ridiculous game 4 they shot 45.9% and 39.4% from 3 and they still won those games.
And a lot of OKC supporters are saying don't mention the previous games because the Thunder have gotten Perkins. Well the Mavs would basically be gaining Dirk AND they also have Peja now. So I don't think it's a safe assumption somebody on the Mavs wouldn't be looking at a bunch of wide open shots at some point during the game.