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  • February 18, 2025
Evaluating the OKC Thunder’s chances against Mavericks in NBA Cup Play

Evaluating the OKC Thunder’s chances against Mavericks in NBA Cup Play

On Tuesday, the Oklahoma City Thunder will begin their NBA Cup career with a late-game showdown against the Dallas Mavericks.

After clinching Western Conference Group B with a win over the Jazz, the Thunder earned one of the coveted eight remaining spots in the second-ever NBA Cup, and are now set to face a familiar rival in Dallas.

Just months ago, OKC’s 2023-2024 season was ended at the hands of superstar Luka Doncic and co. Despite a young and largely inexperienced team, the West’s best player managed to get a few wins, but in the end

Now the Thunder will look to get revenge in a game that could make them a ton of money.

This offseason, General Manager Sam Presti and the front office were able to add even more talent to an already stacked roster, trading guard Josh Giddey for Bulls standout Alex Caruso, signing 7-foot center Isaiah Hartenstein and even get a talented rookie class. in Nikola Topic, Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell, the latter two of which have contributed on the field.

Suffice it to say, Dallas won’t see the same OKC team sent home in six hours.

Still, the Thunder have not avoided injury problems. Chet Holmgren – a big part of the success against the Mavericks last season – will be sidelined for months. And a lot of others have missed a game here and there. In fact, Dallas is playing its best basketball and has won eleven of the last twelve, including seven in a row.

OKC’s chances on Tuesday night are likely more good than bad – with the team sporting an all-time high net rating – but it will certainly need to bring its A-game on both ends, which hasn’t happened consistently in the season’s accounting thus far. for offensive misery.

The Thunder at Mavericks tips off tonight at 8:30 PM CT on TNT. The Magic and Bucks, who occupy two spots on the east side of the bracket, tip off at 6:00 PM CT.

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