NBA 2018-19: 3 Things to watch out for as the Dallas Mavericks host the Oklahoma City Thunder
The Dallas Mavericks host the Oklahoma City Thunder at the American Airlines Center in a match up of the two Western Conference rivals. The Mavericks have lost seven of their last eight games and have dropped out of the Playoff standings. As a result, they'll be desperate for a victory against a Thunder side flying high in the West.
Sunday's hosts have a 16-18 record and find themselves in 12th position in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, the Thunder have a 22-12 record and are the West's third-ranked side.
The Mavericks' record at home is an impressive 14-3, so they'll not be pushovers. After this encounter, they will begin a four-game road trip. The Mavericks had won the earlier game against the Thunder on November 10 behind a great performance from their rookie Luka Doncic and will be hoping for a similar return in this match. So with all of that in mind, here are three things to watch out for in this fixture:
#3 Rebounding advantage for the Thunder
The Thunder are the second-ranked rebounding team in the NBA. They are ranked number one when it comes to offensive rebounding and clearly have the advantage on the boards against the Mavs, who are a league average in that same regard.
Dominance on the boards can be attributed to starting center Steven Adams, who has caused some serious problems in the paint for his opponents. Russell Westbrook is probably the best rebounder across the league at his position and despite shooting struggles, is again having a triple-double season, displaying great effort and intensity on the glass as usual.
The Mavs will rely on DeAndre Jordan to clean up the glass. Jordan lies in the top five in rebounds per game across the league. So naturally, it's important they apply extra effort on the glass to nullify the Thunder's advantage in this area.