In the first round of the NBA playoffs, the home team had a 28-15 record. In the second round, his record was 12 wins, 10 losses, and a batting average much closer to .500. The home team won every game in the New York-Indiana series, but road time won most of the other three second-round series.
It probably means nothing more than the fact that there are a lot of evenly matched teams in this round. The Dallas-Oklahoma City series has many close games, and is characterized by a back-and-forth trend in which neither team can maintain momentum for long.
However, Dallas has the advantage heading into Game 6. The Mavericks won Wednesday in Oklahoma City and lead the series 3-2.
Here we introduce the storyline, odds, and staff picks for Saturday's Game 6 in Dallas.
All odds are from BetMGM. Find great ticket deals on StubHub.
How to watch: 8pm ET on ABC
Series odds: Mavericks -375, Thunder +300
Mavericks lead the series 3-2.
The Mavericks appeared to blow away their advantage by taking the lead in Game 4 at home. Dallas led for most of the game, including a 14-point lead in the third quarter, but was defeated by the Thunder. Dallas did not give the Thunder any respite in Game 5 and continued to make good progress.
Dallas is currently on a four-game winning streak and appears to be in prime position to advance to the conference finals for the second time in three years.
The most surprising thing about this series is that Kyrie Irving is averaging just 14.4 points per game (25.6 points per game in the regular season, 26.5 points in the first round) and Dallas leads 3-2. Dew. Before this series began, the prevailing belief was that for Dallas to beat the best teams, both Luka Doncic and Irving needed to have big nights at the same time. As it turns out, Dallas can beat the Western Conference's No. 1 seed if Irving scores well below his normal score.
Dallas' supporting cast has been significantly strengthened. P.J. Washington is averaging 19.4 points per game. It's almost unbelievable that Washington has outperformed Irving throughout the series. Derrick Jones Jr. added 17 points in Game 4 and 19 points in Game 5. Derek Lively II achieved a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) in Game 5.
Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks around at his teammates, waiting for someone to come and help him. Gilgeous-Alexander's lowest score of the series was 29 points. Again, that is lowest Total points. He is shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from 3-point range. Still, OKC is on the verge of elimination.
Doncic may be looking at that production compared to the series score and thinking, “I've been there.”
Thunder manager Mark Daigneault added Lou Dort to the starting lineup in Game 5, replacing the sick Josh Guidy. Guidi had the best game of the series with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Dort had the worst performance on 4-of-11 shooting. Team plus/minus. That's the situation for the Thunder this series. In the case of Dallas, the supporting cast doesn't do that.
Dallas is likely to finish this series at home, but that possibility is close.
Thunder expert picks on Mavericks
Free daily sports updates delivered straight to your inbox.sign up
Free daily sports updates delivered straight to your inbox.sign up
buy
More NBA Playoffs coverage
Anonymous NBA Player Poll 2024: Is the GOAT LeBron or Jordan? The most overrated? Who is the favorite for the final?
Defending 3-point shots: What NBA defenses are doing besides praying
(Photo of Kyrie Irving and PJ Washington: Joshua Gately/Getty Images)
