The Oklahoma City Thunder handled business in their first-round series against the New Orleans Pelicans, sweeping their opponent. The youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history handled some adversity early in the series, which was a good experience for what was to come.
They are now set to face off against an experienced Dallas Mavericks squad. The Mavericks had a hard-fought series against the Los Angeles Clippers in Round 1, defeating them in six games.
The Thunder, who own one of the best defenses in the NBA, held the Pelicans to 92 or fewer points in all four games of their series. A similar effort against Dallas is imperative, as they have two game-changers in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Despite battling a knee injury and illness, Doncic still had some impressive numbers against the Clippers. He averaged 29.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.5 assists in 42.6 minutes per game. With a few days off, the expectation is that he will be well rested and over his illness.
Irving did a great job of picking up the slack where he needed, taking over when Doncic was unable to. He averaged 26.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.8 steals in 40 minutes per game. His defensive intensity was nice to see, as he would routinely take tough assignments against James Harden.
Heading into Round 2, the emphasis for the Thunder will be on slowing down Doncic and Irving. If they can be contained, Oklahoma City can find success. How are they planning to do that? Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault offered a hilarious response when asked what his plan to stop Doncic is.
“Just make sure Lu [Dort] is on time for the game,” Daigneault said, via ESPN.
Dort is one of several players that will be matched up against Doncic in this series. Jalen Williams will probably find himself in that spot at points, along with Aaron Wiggins off the bench. While individual defense is important, it will take a full team effort from the Thunder to slow down Doncic.
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