Rick Carlisle reckons Oklahoma City Thunder is the best team Dallas Mavericks have encountered
The young and dynamic Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder don’t have to be concerned about getting the attention of their NBA Western Conference Finals opponents, the mighty Dallas Mavericks. On the road to the finals, the Thunder had established themselves as one of the toughest contenders in the league and they have lived up to their reputation in the series. They mounted a vociferous comeback in the game-1 to give Dallas a scare and then turned the tables on the Mavs in their home court in game-2.
On Saturday morning, Dallas’ coach Rick Carlisle highlighted the higher level of threat that the young Oklahoma City presented as compared to their first two opponents in the play-offs Portland Trailblazers and Los Angeles Lakers.
Hours before the game 3, Rick said, “I think it’s important to point out that this is the best team we’ve played in the playoffs. They’re better than the Lakers and they’re better than Portland. And I think the numbers bear that out. They’re scoring 109 points a game on us. So I think it’s important to recognize them. And we’ve got to attack this team very aggressively because they are good.”
The Mavs have been a force to reckon with this post-season. Led by their veteran Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry, who are vying for a championship before the sun sets on their career, the Mavs were unbeaten at the American Airlines Centre coming into the game-2.
However, it all changed on Thursday night.
The Oklahoma City accomplished a major feat by defeating the Mavs’ at the American Airlines Centre which neither of the two more seasoned teams could do. Considering the Thunder as the only team to overpower Dallas at their home in the play-offs, Rick’s praise for the team is clearly more than just a coach-speech.
“Right now they are a better basketball team,” he continued. “They’re in the Western Conference finals. They’re scoring on us at a high rate. I look at how we’ve fared against all three opponents and this is our toughest challenge.” Carlisle said
After losing the home-court advantage in the game 2, Rick stressed that the Mavericks need to capitalize every minute and every second of the game, irrespective of the fact that they are ahead or behind. The Mavs did exactly that on Saturday night.
Playing at the Oklahoma City Arena, Dallas showed the same intensity which their coach demanded and jumped out to a 35-12 advantage early in the second period which enabled them to survive the late charge from the Thunder. The Mavericks wrapped up a brilliant 93-87 victory to take 2-1 lead in the best of seven Conference Finals series.
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