Stiles Points: OKC Thunder Have to Win Battle of Bench Over Dallas Mavericks

The Oklahoma City Thunder will have to win the battle of the benches against the Dallas Mavericks in their Round 2 series.

Dec 2, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe (11) in action during the / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The stars will always get the headlines - especially when two MVP candidates are going toe-to-toe in a best-of-seven series - but the odds are high that the Thunder-Mavericks series will be decided by the two sides' respective bench pieces.

it will be tough sledding limiting either Luka Doncic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in this series, while Kyrie Irving and Jalen Williams are certainly no slouches in their own right. Where is the next advantage created? For the OKC Thunder, it should come from the pine.

Not only are the Thunder's complimentary pieces to their stars more talented than the Mavs calvary, but they are more veraitile as well.

The Mavericks bench pieces need the help of the stars' gravity to make an impact on the offensive end.

A more stationary bunch that just hopes to earn open catch-and-shoot corner looks and be spoonfed buckets from the pick-and-roll.

While the Thunder not only have those same benefits, but more active cutters to put pressure on and bend defenses but also better complimentary creators than the Mavericks for spurts of games.

Everyone can predict this series will fall mostly on the shoulders of stars, but the Thunder can find an edge with guys like Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins making an offensive impact off the bench.

It is no secret that Mark Daigneault will continue to dip into his rotation and throw out guys like Gordon Hayward and Kenrich Williams as needed along with those other off-the-bench weapons.

Between the five off the pine, the Thunder can find someone to flip a game in a sprint to four wins. No matter if it is Joe blitzing the nets, Wiggins cutting to the basket or Wallace whipping up offense, Oklahoma City has the better supporting cast.

Any game that the Mavericks background dancer earns the spotlight will be one Dallas will win - Oklahoma City has to be tight in this battle.

Stiles Points

• It was officially reported that Mavericks big man Maxi Kleber is doubtful to return this postseason after suffering a dislocated shoulder. While the official timeline around Kleber is "indefinitely" the verbiage surrounding the Mavs big man seems to put at least this entire series on ice.
• The Thunder will need to rely on their youth and off-ball movement to exploit the Mavericks who looked stellar defensively against a more stagnate Clippers offense.
• The winner of this Mavericks-Thunder series will advance to the Western Conference Finals to take on either the Timberwolves or Nuggets for a trip to the NBA Finals. That opposite side of the bracket series will be past Game 2 by the time the ball is tipped in the Paycom Center on Tuesday. Right now, the Timberwolves own a 1-0 series lead over the defending champs.
• Each team enjoyed an off-day on Saturday before returning to the practice court on Sunday with two days to go before the series opener on Tuesday night in Bricktown.

Song of the Day: I Need You by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

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