Irving with next gala?
Only four teams are still fighting for the crown in the West and two candidates are Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks! What’s the prediction for the “opener” of the West semifinals at the Paycom Center? The hosts absolutely lived up to their role as favorites in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, sweeping the New Orleans Pelicans out of the competition
The Mavs had more problems with their opponents in their parallel series. The LA Clippers were defeated in six games.
For the first matchup between OKC and Dallas, the betting tip is now aiming for more than 24.5 points by Kyrie Irving. You can find odds for the game in the Sooner State at Betway, where there is also an attractive bonus available for new customers.
Oklahoma City Thunder – Statistics & current form
OKC finished the regular season as the best team in the Western Conference and one reason was the home strength of coach Mark Daigneault’s team. Only eight of the 41 home games were lost and Oklahoma also won both home games in the postseason.
In view of this, the betting odds for Game 1 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks are also worth recommending another win for the hosts by at least three points. This is also supported by the fact that the home side has been dominant in the postseason so far
They won the four games against the Pels by an average margin of just under 16 points! Only Boston and Minnesota were able to defeat their opponents in the first round of the playoffs in similarly clear form.
OKC nails the baskets efficiently
In addition, OKC’s defense has been reliable. The Pelicans averaged just 89.5 points. However, with the Mavericks, Oklahoma is now also up against a clearly better team offensively. However, the defensive work of the hosts’ center Chet Holmgren deserves praise. With 2.8 blocks per game, he leads this ranking in the postseason!
Dallas Mavericks – Statistics & current form
The Texans performed well away from home in the final round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. The 2011 champions won two of their three visits to the Clippers and the defense in particular did a good job in the games. As a result, LA failed to score in triple digits twice.
In light of this quality, the prediction of a maximum of 110 points by the hosts in Game 1 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks is also worth considering. Luka Doncic will also be stable once again
With just under 30 points and ten assists per game, the point guard from Slovenia is among the top five players in both postseason rankings! However, he still has room for improvement in terms of scoring compared to the regular season. Doncic hit just one of ten attempts from downtown in the last game, and one reason could be that he has slight knee problems
Hardaway Jr. could miss the Mavericks again
In principle, however, the visitors will be able to make almost full use of their squad. Only Tim Hardaway Jr. is doubtful. The small forward has already missed the last four games in the postseason due to an ankle injury
Oklahoma City Thunder – Dallas Mavericks head-to-head / H2H record
The teams met four times in the last regular season and the visitors from the “Lone Star State” prevailed only once. However, the away record from the recent past is impressive for the visitors in this fixture: Half of the past ten guest games at OKC ended in a win for the Mavs.
Oklahoma City Thunder – Dallas Mavericks betting tip
Kyrie Irving knows all about the high pressure of the postseason. In 2016, he won the NBA title alongside LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers and, as an eight-time All-Star, there is no question about his class as a player.
Now “Uncle Drew” is demonstrating it particularly clearly. In the previous round against the Clippers, he averaged 26.5 points and his threes in particular are spot on. 3.7 per game in the series against LA found their way through the reuse
Only three players top this figure in the postseason. Furthermore, the upcoming opponent suits him. Although OKC is very strong defensively, Irving averaged 30.5 points against the hosts in his two encounters during the regular season. With that in mind, the 32-year-old is a good bet to score more than 24.5 points in Game 1 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks!
