The Dallas Mavericks have dropped two straight and five of nine to fall to 23-21 on the season. This team had higher expectations but, if the playoffs started today, they’d be the No. 8 seed.
On Monday, they’ll visit the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game that’s currently off the board in the sportsbook. The Thunder are struggling these days but can they take care of business at home? Let’s take a closer look at this matchup.
Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder
Date: Monday, March 29th, 2021 – 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks have had issues with injuries this season but the latest report from Sunday night shows that both Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis are good to go for Monday’s affair. Both have missed games recently with Doncic avoiding Friday’s game while Porzingis didn’t play in the Mavs’ Saturday affair.
Dallas has been playing better of late after having a disastrous start. They began the year with just nine wins in their first 23 games but have since gone 14-7 in their last 21. They’ve also won five of their last seven on the road but one of those losses was a shortcoming at the hands of the Thunder.
The Thunder are extremely short-handed these days and are mostly just playing for better draft picks. As long as the Mavericks are focused here, they should be able to pick up the win.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder are a team that’s been quite disappointing this season. Last year, they made some noise and even pushed for a playoff series win in the bubble. Expectations dropped after head coach Billy Donovan left in the offseason, along with point guard Chris Paul and forward Danilo Gallinari.
Things have gotten worse in-season as the team has been ravaged by injuries. They’re currently sitting with the third-worst record in the Western Conference and they could (and should) slide further down the totem pole as we near the end of the season.
Oklahoma City was once 6-6 on the year. They are just 13-21 since. On Monday, they’ll be without Al Horford and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who are among their two better starters. On Saturday, this team put forth a starting lineup that included Theo Maledon, Luguentz Dort, Aleksej Pokusevski, Isaiah Roby and Moses Brown. Lu Dort is also going to be out on Monday, so this is essentially a G-League Affiliate these days.
Oklahoma City is not a particularly good home team as they are just 8-14 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena this season and they’ve lost three of their last four at home. At this point, they’re a tough team to trust anyway you look at it. Unless they’re getting a bunch of points at home, they’re a hard pass these days.
