Dec. 25, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) and Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) look up for a rebound during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Durant, Durant.

Since the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals two years ago the teams have headed in opposite directions. This year, to the surprise of many, OKC has improved despite trading Sixth Man of the Year James Harden and they’re doing it on many levels.

Kevin Martin, who came in for Harden has played better than expected and everyone from Kevin Durant to Russell Westbrook to the many role players on the team have stepped up their game, truly demonstrating a young team growing into a possible dynasty and indicating Scott Brooks is going to be one of the better coaches in the NBA.

Kevin Durant’s statistics are up almost across the board, Russell Westbrook’s assists are at a career high and Serge Ibaka is having a career year in scoring and that’s just for starters. The Thunder are an imposing opponent inside and out on both ends of the floor. Although they lost to the Heat again on Christmas day, the Thunder have a solid chance of getting back to the NBA Finals for a possible rematch.

The Thunder are third in the league in scoring (3rd) and solid defensively (11th) while middle of the pack on the boards (14th) which are sadly all ahead of the Mavericks, making for a potentially long night. Kevin Durant is scoring at a 28 ppg clip, good for third in the league and hits over 52% of his shots. Westbrook is less efficient at 40% but still manages to rack up over 21 ppg while dishing out over 8 ½ assists. Serge Ibaka is scoring a career-high 14 ppg while still blocking 3 shots per game.

While Dirk Nowitzki will be brought along slowly and continue to come off the bench for the time being, the Mavericks will start to reform their offense around him and Coach Rick Carlisle had extra practices over the Christmas holidays to try to do some damage control after multiple blowout losses including the worst yet in the last game against the San Antonio Spurs.

To compete with the Thunder will be a real challenge, especially in view of Dallas’ poor interior defense this year. It is more feasible that they might be successful on the offensive end if Dirk can get going and get some help from the supporting cast, especially a mix of inside/outside game which stretches the floor and is supplemented by Chris Kaman and Elton Brand connecting on short midrange jumpers and slipping Brandan Wright in for easy baskets around the rim.

This is even more critically important in view of how other teams’ attention to O. J. Mayo has affected his game.  Thabo Sefalosha is one of the best defensive guards in the league so chances are Mayo will not have an easy path to a great game and since Rick Carlisle knows this, he might want to spread the wealth or should I say, opportunity.

If the Mavericks pick one or more of the usual maladies that has plagued them, poor shooting, poor rebounding, poor defense or turnovers, it will be another long night in OKC.

Peter G. Aiken US PRESSWIRE

The Dallas Mavericks flew to Wichita, Kansas with limited expectations facing the Oklahoma City Thunder and despite staying within striking distance for much of the game, the shorthanded Mavs eventually succumbed 88—76 at the hands of last year’s Western Conference Champions.

Scoring machine Kevin Durant scored 18 points and James Harden added 16 to lead the Thunder and normally defensive-minded Serge Ibaka added 15.

The Mavs were playing without Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion and Vince Carter and leading scorer and rebounder Chris Kaman and lost Brandan Wright during the game.

The Good:

Considering the competition, the team kept pace fairly well.  It could easily have been another blowout.

It was another solid night for rookie sensation Jae Crowder who scored 21 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Brandan Wright added 11 points and 5 rebounds in just over 17 minutes on the floor before leaving with an ankle injury.

Bernard James again looked solid in playing the role everyone expects of him with 5 points and 7 rebounds to go with 2 blocked shots.   When his offense develops, watch out for Sarge.

The Bad:

The Mavericks pulled to 80-71 on a jumper by Bernard James with just over five minutes play but the Mavs only scored one point until about a minute left to fall further behind.

The oft-injured Brandan Wright rolled his ankle and left the game after putting in a solid performance prior to his exit.

The Ugly:

As with other games this season, the opposition didn’t shoot well but they didn’t have to because the Mavs again struggled even more.  This stat line looks all too familiar: 37.3% from the field, 18.8% from downtown and 61.1% from the line.

For the preseason, the Mavericks are holding their opponents to only 41% shooting, which would be a sure-fire prescription for a winning record if they weren’t hitting only 43% themselves including 3 consecutive games below 40%.  Simultaneously they are being blocked out in the lane and for the preseason have been out rebounded 344-292.

Next up:

The Mavs will be back home to face the Charlotte Bobcats at the AAC on Friday night with three new players on the roster.  See our upcoming preview on the game for the skinny.  Game time is 7:30 CDT.