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Pretenders or Contenders?




PRETENDERS OR CONTENDERS?

Lets be honest, did anyone expect the Dallas Mavericks to be 6-2 after week 2? I’m good friends with GM Smokey but even I’ll admit I thought they were a couple of years away. Digging deeper though and its evident they have a solid base of talent. They landed Paul Millsap for pretty much nothing, added KCP to the wings and have a healthy Nerleans Noel for a change. Add a great draft with the additions of Lonzo Ball and Jonathan Isaac and it starts to become clear how the Mavs have started so well.

The Thunder are a perennial contender and with the addition of George you would be expecting a finals appearance this season. Currently atop of the west with a 7-1 record, the Thunder have set the tone early. Lead by their all-star wings (Not a centre!!!) Butler and George the Thunder have had their way with all opponents but the Cavaliers (which was an OT loss at home)

It'll be interesting to see where the Mavericks are in say 6 weeks’ time, but GM Smokey is a great coach and this Mavs team does have stacked talent, so it may not be too much of a surprise to see them nestled in the top 8 out west. On the other side, I’m expecting the Thunder to be representing the west in the NLL finals, they’re that good. Any team that puts out Jokic, Dray, George, Butler and Rubio on a nightly basis should be expecting a championship run.

LAST TIME OUT
This is the team’s first matchup this season.

MATCHUP AT A GLANCE

DAL
6-2
3rd in West
106.0 PPG (11th in NLL)
42.0 RPG (19th in NLL)
24.8 APG (8th in NLL)

OKC
7-1
1st in West
107.40 PPG (4th in NLL)
43.3 RPG (8th in NLL)
25.8 APG (2nd in NLL)

PROJECTED STARTERS 
DAL: Ball, Caldwell-Pope, Ennis, Millsap, Noel
OKC: Schroder, Butler, George, Green, Jokic

INJURY & ROSTER NOTES 
DAL:  Jonathan Isaac (Ankle), Ivica Zubac (G-League)
OKC:  Nikola Mirotic (Face), Ricky Rubio (Achilles), Nik Stauskas (Ankle)

DALLAS SCOUTING REPORT
Rookie Isaac misses the week with an ankle complaint and the mystery of Zubac being stuck in the G-League continues. Ennis will replace Isaac and while he doesn’t produce much on the stat sheet, he does all the little things that every team loves but stat geeks hate. The Mav’s get it done on all fronts and with a great blend of team play and tough defense. 5 players average double figures in points on this team with veteran Millsap leading the way with just under 17 a game. What to watch for this week is Lonzo Ball. He had a hit in his ratings to match his NBA play and it will be interesting to see how this translates to the NLL. Either way, Dallas will go hard and would be looking forward to using this game as a measuring stick and seeing just how close they really are.

TEAM LEADERS

DAL
PTS: Millsap (16.9)
REB: Noel (11.4)
AST: Ball (9.1)

OKC
PTS: George (22.8)
REB: Jokic (10.3)
AST: Schroder (5.9)

OKLAHOMA CITY SCOUTING REPORT
Spanish maestro Ricky Rubio will miss this clash with an Achilles issue, Mirotic is still nursing a bruised face (and ego) but the Thunder are so deep it doesn’t really matter. How many teams can lose a starting PG and just go that’s ok we’ll replace him another. Dennis Schroder gets his chance to shine(finally!) and with other gm’s calling around the league to “play him or trade him” we could see him push Ricky out of the door if he plays well enough. The Thunder are just a monster. I mean spots 1-10, even with 2 key players missing, they’re deep and even spots 11-13 they still have players that could get decent sized minutes elsewhere. The Thunder as usual will look to play their game, lockdown wing defense and dominate the key with the Joker.

PREDICTION

I think this will be a tight contest and the Mavs will give it everything they have, but I see the Thunder just being too strong and taking out a 5-point win.



Star

Lonzo Ball

Lonzo has had a great start to the NLL season(Can't say the same for his NBA counterpart though) and is seen as one of the main reasons the Mavs have jumped out of the gate. He's in the spotlight this week because of his NBA form... He has stunk shooting the ball and it appears 2k have finally noticed, gutting his shooting ratings. Ball is a wiry, athletic and big PG though and i would still expect his elite vision to make a difference.

 
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Star

Nikola Jokic

I know this team is lead by their all-star wings, but i think Jokic is what really makes this team tick. His craftiness and elite vision and playmaking from the low and high post is such a weapon and it makes him almost unguardable. If you back off him, he'll take and make the J, if get in his face or double him he'll make a passing play, the guy is just so good. Look for Jokic to take it to Noel and set the early tone in a match up of the bigs.

X-Factor
  • BALL MOVEMENT - Both teams love to move the ball. The Thunder get a bit more out of the post because of the Jokic/Dray combo but Millsap loves making passing plays. Both teams have unselfish players in the back court and on the wings so i'm looking forward to a really fun game to watch. Whoever keeps the turnovers down the most, will likely come out on top

  • DEFENSE - Some say doesn't mean much atm... I disagree, look at the top teams and where they're ranked defensively and you'll see why it definitely matters. OKC are first and the Mavs fifth. While both teams have great offences there's a good chance both teams defenses cancel each other out and we see a real grind it out type game. Butler and George are 2 of the best at their position, KCP is still a rising 3 and D player himself, Millsap is a great defender despite his lack of height at the four as well, but Dray has the edge on him.