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NBA star reveals why Mavericks will destroy Thunder in playoffs

Noah Weber
Noah Weber

The Smoking Cuban

Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving / Joshua Gateley/GettyImages

On Tuesday night, the Dallas Mavericks faced the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their second-round series.

Oklahoma City beat Dallas 117-95, and Luka Doncic's struggles persisted. Doncic finished with 19 points on 6-19 shooting, and he continues to hobble around due to the knee injury that he suffered last series.

The Mavs' next chance to avenge the Thunder for the blowout loss they suffered on Tuesday night is on Thursday, and Dallas and Doncic in particular typically respond well to losses.

Draymond Green reveals why Mavericks will destroy Thunder in playoffs

While all of the confidence seems to be in the Thunder right now considering their big win on Tuesday night, Golden State Warriors star forward Draymond Green is someone who showed big confidence in the Mavs before the series started.

Green predicted that the Mavs would beat the Thunder in five or six games, saying that Dallas' size and length would give them an advantage over the Thunder since they are so undersized. Green also said that he thinks Dallas is just as good or better offensively than the Thunder and thinks the Mavs' physicality will be big in this series.

This prediction and analysis being made before Game 1 must be taken into consideration, but Green makes good points here. The Mavs' physicality and fire helped earn them a tough series win over the LA Clippers in the round before, but Dallas' physicality wasn't there as much in Game 1 against Oklahoma City.

This is mostly due to the referees calling this game so tightly, but the Thunder also had much more energy than the Mavs. The Thunder were getting all of the 50-50 balls, and the Mavs were getting killed by the Thunder role players in the second half.

Aaron Wiggins scored 16 points off the bench in this game, and Dallas' poor Game 1s continued into last night. Jason Kidd is yet to win a Game 1, and the Mavs now have to win four of their next six games against the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference to earn a trip to the Western Conference Finals.

For all the latest on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks throughout their battle with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, stay tuned.

Noah Weber

Noah Weber

Noah Weber is the Site Expert for The Smoking Cuban, covering the Dallas Mavericks as a credentialed media member since the 2022-23 season. With a Bachelor of Science in Sports Media from Oklahoma State University, Noah has worked in sports journalism since 2019. While he's covered the Dallas Cowboys and Oklahoma State Cowboys, he has now established himself as a go-to voice for Mavericks coverage. Noah's expertise includes in-depth game analysis, social media content creation, and offering unique perspectives through his reporting. His work has been featured on major platforms such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Overtime. During his time at Oklahoma State, Noah won first place in the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association Awards for a show he co-produced. Outside of covering the Mavs, Noah enjoys working out, playing basketball and Spikeball, and spending quality time with friends and family.