Last night, Jan. 23, the Oklahoma City Thunder hosted the Dallas Mavericks for their fourth and final meeting of the season. With star point guard Luka Doncic out for the Mavs, it appeared that OKC should have been able to secure a win.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. Falling 121-115, the Thunder ended the season series with a 1-3 record, leaving many people concerned and with lots of questions.
Why can’t OKC beat the Mavs?
The first time these two teams met was back in mid November where, despite a stellar performance from SGA and JDub, OKC fell short by two points on their home court. And yet again, Doncic was absent for the game.
Surprisingly enough, the only time Doncic was healthy when playing OKC, the Thunder pulled out a win. Whether it was due to the matchup taking place during the NBA Cup or that Oklahoma City game planned better with Luka healthy, OKC always seems to fall short when Dallas’ All-Star is out.
Why is this the case?
For one, P.J. Washington performs like an All-Star when facing OKC. So far this season, Washington has averaged 13.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. But when playing the Thunder, he has averaged an astonishing 21.6 points and 14.3 rebounds per game.
For some reason, role players like him and Spencer Dinwiddie, who scored 28 points on 11/16 shooting Thursday, step up their games when facing OKC, as Washington now has a 7-1 record in his last eight games when playing the Thunder.
Secondly, in the Thunder’s defense, Chet Holmgren has yet to play against the Mavs and in every loss against Dallas, OKC has been without Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. OKC’s one win was when Hartenstein was healthy.
However, what truly hurts the Thunder when playing Dallas is the rebounding and foul calling. In their three losses, OKC was outrebounded 139-108 and received nearly ten more fouls than Dallas (72-63). While OKC can’t do anything about the whistles, it is interesting to see how the game is called in this rivalry.
As for the rebounding issue, OKC has always struggled in that department. However, it doesn’t help when the team’s two starting centers have been injured when facing Dallas.
In summary, with Luka out for the Mavs, it allows much more freedom for other players to score and make plays. For some odd reason, the Thunder play better when the perennial talent is on the court. And while Thunder fans may be concerned about their shortcomings against Dallas, they only sit in seventh place out West and have yet to see a fully healthy OKC squad.
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