When the NBA announced its second-round schedule, one thing that immediately drew attention was the lack of rest between games. The Thunder will have a week off between the end of their first-round series and Game 1, and the Mavericks will have three days off before starting their series, but things will move quickly in the Western Conference semifinals.
The two opponents will play every other day for the first five games, with back-to-back days off between Games 5 and 6, and just one day off until Game 7.
This series will be played at a more normal pace than the Thunder's tumultuous first round against the Pelicans, where they had more days off than games en route to the sweep.
After Sunday's practice, Mark Daigneault was asked if the lack of time between games would benefit a young Oklahoma City team.
“We have no advantage or disadvantage against our opponent. They play every other night. The schedule is announced and we play according to that schedule. Our opponent also plays every other night,” the Thunder bench coach said. He spoke with a coy tone. advantage.
However, from the outside looking in, it looks like things are leaning heavily in the Thunder's direction because they don't have many days off.
Not only are the Mavericks dealing with injuries, especially star Luka Doncic, who is dealing with a knee injury that will force him to take short rest throughout the series, but their lack of experience in a tense playoff series , is tempered by the rhythm of the regular season.
Often when a young team pulls off an upset, the takeaway is that “they didn't know any better'' and played fearlessly under bright lights.
The Thunder, who won the entire first-round series, will soon find themselves in trouble in a more competitive series with at least six games remaining. With no time to mull over the outcome, young teams rely on his 0-0 mentality to help them get back on track after a loss.
The pace of this series means that even if you go far, it will be over in no time. So there is little time to worry, overthink, or consume external noise. It's the perfect recipe for an inexperienced squad to defeat an experienced enemy.
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