Why Thunder will beat Mavericks in 2024 Western Conference Semifinals

The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off a highly impressive sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans in their first-round series. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren continue to form a phenomenal trio that excels on both ends of the floor. These individuals will be challenged heavily in the next round against arguably the best one-two scoring punch in the NBA today.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were magnificent in their first-round series as well, so the Thunder’s defenders must be up for the challenge starting Tuesday night. Luguentz Dort will likely begin the series on Doncic, while Williams will be an incredible option to try and contain Irving. The camaraderie and chemistry of this iteration of OKC is commendable, so they must utilize this advantage tremendously.

The Thunder will have home-court advantage as the No.1 seed, and these are the main reasons why they will advance to the Western Conference Finals.

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OKC’s defense is superb

When the pace slows down in the postseason and you play the same opponent for a couple of weeks, the defensive strengths of the teams get magnified. In the Thunder series against the Pelicans, they limited the Pelicans to less than 100 points for every outing of the series. Even if OKC had trouble rebounding in the regular season, they are able to cover up that weakness because of their switchablity and desire on the defensive end.

The Mavericks do not have the size to punish the lack of size for the Thunder, so that will be a huge advantage for their squad. Throwing a multitude of bodies on Doncic and Irving for the series will likely be a brilliant approach, especially with Doncic not being 100 percent in the playoffs. Moreover, the excellent rim protection of Holmgren will be vital in propelling the Thunder to the West Finals.

OKC is deeper than Dallas

For the big names playing in this spectacular battle, Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and Holmgren cancel out the production of Doncic and Irving. However, there will be crucial nights wherein the role players will play a huge difference in the series. Even if OKC played their starters for the majority of the first round, there were instances in the regular season wherein Isiah Joe or Cason Wallace were inserted in the closing unit.

These youngsters are not afraid of the big moment, and they embrace having the rare opportunity of playing under the brightest lights. For Dallas, they will miss the services of Maxi Kleber in this series, and Tim Hardaway Jr. is still recovering from an ankle sprain in Round 1. For this particular season, the ancillary pieces of the Thunder are more reliable, and it will be an edge they will have against the Mavs.

The tight-knit group of the Thunder

Reiterating the bond and closeness of the Thunder guys is an immense advantage they have heading into this intriguing series. It is not just with their off-court relationship or their viral clips during the player of the game interviews, but it is more of their connectedness on the floor. In the Pelicans series, the assist numbers of the Thunder were usually way ahead than the Pelicans because everyone is selfless.

Through their willingness to share the sugar, the confidence of everyone in the rotation skyrockets. Their three-point shooting was terrific in Round 1, and a slew of their looks were incredible. Moreover, OKC’s awareness and ability to continuously help on the defensive end is an enormous strength that will be emphasized against Dallas.