Normal service has resumed for the Oklahoma City Thunder. After an awful Game 2 from both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the Thunder superstars bounced back in a big way to lead another blowout win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 and go up 2-1 in their Western Conference first-round series. With the Mavs battling through multiple injuries, is another blowout in Dallas in the cards?
Read on below for a complete preview of the Thunder-Mavs Game 4. Meanwhile, check out more 2016 NBA Playoff action with our previews of the Clippers vs. Blazers Game 3 and Pacers vs. Raptors Game 4.
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Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks Game 4 Preview
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas
When: Saturday, April 23, 2016, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Oklahoma City Thunder (-10) at Dallas Mavericks (+10); total 201.5 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder
So, when Kevin Durant is having a normal Kevin Durant shooting game, and not a historically bad, once-in-a-decade stinker, the Thunder run out comfortable winners. Who knew?
With Durant and Westbrook rolling, and Serge Ibaka, Enes Kanter, and Dion Waiters all contributing 16 or more points, the Thunder win was never really in doubt. OKC just has too much athleticism and firepower offensively for the injury-depleted Mavs.
The Thunder have now thrashed the Mavs by 28 or more points in their two wins in this series, and have gone 6-1 (4-3 ATS) in their last seven meetings after sweeping the regular season series. It took a horrific shooting game from Durant for them to lose, and even then, they were a fraction of a second from winning anyway.
At this point, it’s safe to say the Thunder are the much better team than the Mavs. Barring another horrific shooting performance from their stars, that gap in quality should remain pretty significant in Game 4.
Betting on the Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a veteran team with a lot of pride. They will scrap and claw until the last second, but the sad fact is that they just don’t have the horses to keep up with the young Thunder. They’re already without Chandler Parsons, and injury also robbed them of Deron Williams for Game 3 after he came up big in limited minutes in Game 2.
JJ Barea, who missed Game 2 with a groin injury, came back to score 15 points while Game 2 hero Raymond Felton had another solid game with 18. But even with those guys playing a little over their heads, they couldn’t even get closer than 10 points of the Thunder for most of the night.
It’s honestly tough to see what more head coach Rick Carlisle can do strategically given the limited resources at his disposal. Dirk Nowitzki, who’s averaging 17 points in the series while battling through a sore knee, simply can’t carry this team like he once did.
It also remains to be seen whether Williams can go for Game 4, and how effective he can be if he does play. Meanwhile, you’d have to think Felton doesn’t have many more games where he’s averaging close to 20 PPG left. If (or when) he finally cools down, who else can manufacture some much-needed offense for this Mavs team?
Writer’s Prediction
The Thunder (-10) take a commanding 3-1 lead with another double-digit road win.
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