Mavs Moneyball - Gameday: Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City ThunderRick Carlisle approved.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50869/mmb-fav.png2016-01-23T20:20:27-06:00http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/rss/stream/105769072016-01-23T20:20:27-06:002016-01-23T20:20:27-06:00Mark Followill has the call of the century
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<p>Just fantastic.</p> <p>We've been lucky to have the great Followill announcing Maverick games (and lord knows so many other various games around the sports world), and this typifies exactly what he's one of the very best in the play-by-play game.</p>
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<p>Everybody, now:</p>
<h3>SALAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH</h3>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2016/1/23/10821050/mark-followill-has-the-call-of-the-century-when-salah-mejri-blocksTim Cato2016-01-23T14:52:40-06:002016-01-23T14:52:40-06:0010 observations from the Mavericks' 109-106 loss
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<p>Salah Mejri nearly brought the Mavericks in a ridiculous game.</p> <p id="paragraph0"><i>You can also find this post and many more basketball thoughts at Jonathan Tjarks' blog, <a data-ref-index="7" href="http://patternofbasketball.blogspot.com/">The Pattern of Basketball.</a></i></p>
<h4><b>1) It's <span>Salah Mejri's</span> world and we are all just living in it</b></h4>
<p>This game was just about over until <span>Rick Carlisle</span> reached all the way to the very bottom of his bag of tricks and wound up with Salah Mejri, the 29-year old third string C from Tunisia who had played a grand total of 45 minutes in the NBA coming into Friday. Mejri is apparently an OKC killer because he had a great showing against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Thunder</a> - 17 points, 9 rebounds and 8 shots - when the Mavs rested all of their guys last week.<br> <br> There's a lot to like about his game. At 7'2 245 with a 7'3 wingspan, he has the length and athleticism to protect the rim and be a threat as the roll man. He's a less explosive version of Javale McGee who is A) in better shape B) doesn't make as many mental mistakes C) makes free throws and D) has less baggage in terms of his reputation. The Mavs wouldn't have had a chance without Mejri's presence at the rim on both sides of the ball in the 4Q - he finished with 5 points, 1 rebound and 2 blocks in 8 minutes and he was tied for the best plus/minus on the team (+8). How's this for a storyline? Mejri had monstrous blocks on <span>Kevin Durant</span> and <span>Russell Westbrook</span> in crunch time that fueled the Mavs aborted comeback.<br> <br> You don't want to get too excited about him considering how small the sample size is. No one in the league knows anything about him (although he claims that Durant and Westbrook knew who he was because he blocked their shots in international play) and there's isn't really a scouting report on him at the moment so it's easy for him to surprise teams who don't have a game-plan for attacking him. Nevertheless, he's been very productive when he has gotten on the floor and the <i>idea</i> of Salah Mejri is certainly very enticing to this team. He could theoretically give you the best of both worlds at the C position - more of an offensive threat than Zaza, more defensive awareness than McGee. He's definitely going to need some minutes, if for no other reason than for the Mavs to figure out exactly what they have in this 7'2 international man of mystery.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">He can play. <a href="https://t.co/Sy08fKG5nq">https://t.co/Sy08fKG5nq</a>
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— Haralabos Voulgaris (@haralabob) <a href="https://twitter.com/haralabob/status/690739216469200897">January 23, 2016</a>
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<br> What worries me is that Mejri's minutes will probably come out of JaVale's and while he still makes a lot of mistakes when he's out there I don't think there's any question that JaVale has been a positive presence for this team. JaVale had 11 points and 4 rebounds in 14 minutes tonight and he had several monstrous pick-and-roll finishes that got the whole building excited. For as much as Zaza has given the team this season, I'd much rather play McGee and Mejri more minutes and become a pure spread pick-and-roll team and use Zaza as a change of pace rebounder/enforcer because that's the best way to maximize everyone else's game on both sides of the ball.</p>
<h4><b>2) Talent beats execution</b></h4>
<p><br> Before the Mejri <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/">Magic</a> Hour began, the story of this game was the way OKC put their foot on the pedal in the 3Q and blew the Mavs out of the water. Dallas had played one of their better halves of the season in the first half and they were out-executing the Thunder to death. I guess they really missed the presence of <span>Steven Adams</span> (who hurt himself in warm-ups) at the rim because they gave up a number of open lay-ups and they had a terrible time communicating and setting up the second line of their defense. I'm not sure how many open shots they gave up on back-door cuts but it was a lot.<br> <br> That was all well and good but then the 3Q began and OKC was like we have Westbrook, Durant and Ibaka and y'all don't. The Thunder stars just absolutely took over the game and there was really nothing the Mavs could do about it. Westbrook started making dead sprints to the front of the rim off Mavs misses and creating wide open looks for either himself or one of his teammates. Carlisle was moving Wes Matthews between Durant and Westbrook all game to stem the bleeding and whoever he wasn't guarding pretty much had free reign out there. The best teams in the league have to have 2 perimeter stoppers and the Mavs only have one. It's not the biggest problem this team has but it is a big problem in a game like this one.</p>
<h4><b>3) Durant and Westbrook as passers</b></h4>
<p><b><br></b> If the Mavs had a defensive strategy against the Thunder stars that wasn't close your eyes and pray, it was sending a bunch of extra men at them in order to make them pass the ball. If the mark of a well-coached team is that the right guys are shooting the ball, the Thunder weren't particularly well-coached - they took 91 shots and Durant and Westbrook only had 40 and most teams who play them will live with that. None of that is to say that they should have forced the action more - they both made the right pass most of the night (Westbrook still took his share of silly shots of course) and they combined for 14 assists on 7 turnovers. OKC's supporting cast is going to have to knock down shots and they did a good enough job on Friday to pull out the win.</p>
<h4><b>4) The emergence of Cam Payne</b></h4>
<p><br> From a plus/minus standpoint, the most productive player for OKC was rookie Cam Payne, who is slowly moving into Killa Cam territory. He was +13 in 12 minutes and had 8 points (on 10 shots) and 3 assists (on 2 turnovers). Payne appears to be another keeper from the Thunder scouting department, the one part of their organization that always seems to pull their weight. More important than his individual numbers was the way he controlled the game, ran the pick-and-roll and created good shots for the OKC 2nd when neither Westbrook nor Durant was in. I'm pretty sure the Thunder would still be better off staggering their minutes but if Payne can hold the fort it at least gives them a chance.<br> <br> At 6'2 180, Payne is never going to wow you physically and his ridiculous haircut only makes him easier to underestimate. He's pretty frail-looking in person, he doesn't have a lot of meat on his bones and he's not a plus athlete but he's a really smart player who knows how to maximize his physical abilities and he doesn't appear to make a lot of the mental mistakes that get rookie PG's sent to the bench. Like most OKC draft picks, he has really long arms (6'7 wingspan) and that helps his cause. He can shoot off the dribble from the 3-point line and he already has a nice floater as well as a great feel for manipulating the defense and finding the open man on the move. He's a player - there's no doubt about that. The question is whether he can survive enough on D that OKC can use him more as the season goes on.<br> <br> <iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vc0idaPJFK0" width="560"></iframe> <br> <br> "He was huge. They trapped him out there at half court, which I sort of take as a compliment," said Durant. "If they trap you that mean you're doing something right, so he came out and played well. He is playing with a lot of confidence right now and we are going to need that coming down the line."</p>
<h4><b>5) The Thunder have their closing 5</b></h4>
<p><b><br></b> OKC went with Westbrook - Waiters - Singler - KD - Ibaka tonight and that's the group that I assume they're going to use going forward. Singler has apparently returned from the dead and remembered how to play basketball so that 5-man unit is their best approximation of a group that can play D and stretch the floor around their Big 3. Going with KD at the 4 and Ibaka at the 5 puts the defense in an impossible position and Donovan clearly trusts Waiters over DJ Augustin (too short), <span>Anthony Morrow</span> (can't defend) and <span>Andre Roberson</span> (can't shoot). I wonder if playing Payne with Westbrook in the backcourt and allowing Russ to guard 2's might make more sense long-term but Waiters has the body and the build to play better D than OKC's scrawny rookie so he just needs to take care of the ball and not do too many foolish things on offense.<br> <br> The Mavs still made a point to attack Singler on defense and that's something to watch going forward. They forced Billy Donovan into making this interesting switch - instead of having Singler on Parsons, Ibaka on Dirk and Durant on Mejri, they moved Durant to Parsons and Singler to Mejri. Dallas then prompty put Singler in the 2-man game and attacked him at the rim but those are the breaks. I like the idea of KD being a defensive stopper and they are clearly going to need their two superstars to play at about as high a level as possible if they are going to have any chance of beating the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">Spurs</a> AND the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Warriors</a>. The question is whether Singler's floor spacing and playmaking is going to be a better fit than playing a bigger guy like Adams and whether they are better off going small with worse players or trying to dictate the match-ups and go big with their best players.</p>
<h4><b>6) Parsons at the 4</b></h4>
<p><br> This is going to be repetitive for the brave souls who regularly read these recaps but once again Parsons played really well as a small-ball 4. The Mavs made most of their run in the 4Q with Parsons at the 4 and Mejri at the 5. OKC tried to have <span>Enes Kanter</span> and <span>Serge Ibaka</span> out there and Parsons went right around Kanter like he wasn't even there so Donovan had no choice but to go small and put Singler in the game. The thing is that Singler couldn't guard Parsons either, especially with how wide open the floor was for him to operate. Fun fact - Parsons and Singler were in the same recruiting class (2007) and Singler was the No. 4 player in the country while Parsons was at No. 44.</p>
<h4><b>7) The domino effect of Parsons at the 4</b></h4>
<p><br> In the first half, Carlisle had <span>Dwight Powell</span> as the backup 4 behind Dirk, which worked when he was paired with Zaza and then collapsed in on itself like a dying star when Dirk came back in the game and the Mavs were playing both of them. You just cannot play those two together for any amount of time - the defense can't handle it, especially when they are going up against a line-up that had Kevin Durant on it. Powell was -12 in 7 minutes and that stretch at the end of the 1Q allowed OKC to get back in the game and completely negated a great start by the Mavs.<br> <br> In the second half, Carlisle played Parsons at the backup 4. The good news is that it meant that neither Powell nor Charlie V got in the game after halftime. The bad news is that playing Parsons at the backup 4 creates a hole in the 2nd unit at the SF position, especially once Wes Matthews comes out of the game. Carlisle went with a 3 PG line-up - JJ Barea, <span>Devin Harris</span> and <span>Deron Williams</span> - and it did not work out very well. This team is one wing short and it has been a problem all season long. It would be nice if <span>Justin Anderson</span> could get those minutes but it would probably take an act of God for Carlisle to be willing to be give a rookie serious minutes.</p>
<h4><b>8) Westbrook's Revenge</b></h4>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">Russell Westbrook gets his revenge on <span>J.J. Barea</span>: <a href="https://t.co/WmI5c1KrVf">https://t.co/WmI5c1KrVf</a>
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— Royce Young (@royceyoung) <a href="https://twitter.com/royceyoung/status/690720752493002757">January 23, 2016</a>
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<br> I'm not sure I've ever laughed harder at a Mavs game.</p>
<h4><b>9) Kyle Singler's Hair</b></h4>
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<div dir="ltr" lang="en">kyle singler has that 2007 emo kid haircut <a href="https://t.co/ahXqLiGzUM">pic.twitter.com/ahXqLiGzUM</a>
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— rachael (@RachaelHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/RachaelHoops/status/688902443279732736">January 18, 2016</a>
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Though to be fair this was pretty close.</p>
<h4><b>10) Is Mitch McGary a better player than Enes Kanter?</b></h4>
<p><br> Just throwing that out there.</p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2016/1/23/10818472/10-observations-from-the-mavericks-109-106-loss-to-the-thundertjarks2016-01-22T22:05:12-06:002016-01-22T22:05:12-06:00Mavs drop thriller to Thunder, 109-106
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<p>Dallas came up short in a hard-fought game.</p> <p><span>Dirk Nowitzki</span> and <span>Chandler Parsons</span> last-ditch three-point attempts both clanged off the rim, as Dallas' comeback came up just short in a 109-106 loss to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a>.</p>
<p>The back-and-forth affair was absolutely thrilling throughout, as Dallas went haymaker for haymaker with one of the top teams in the Western Conference.</p>
<p>The first quarter saw the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Mavericks</a> jump out to a quick 23-12 lead, before the Thunder went on a 20-4 run to take a five point lead early in the second quarter. Dallas would surge back though, taking a ten-point lead in the final minute of the half, before going into halftime up 56-48. Parsons and Dirk had 11 and ten points, respectively, to help Dallas claim that halftime lead.</p>
<p>The third quarter was a different story altogether, though, as the Thunder came out on fire and didn't look back, outscoring Dallas in the frame 37-18. <span>Kevin Durant</span> scored 12 points in the frame, while <span>Serge Ibaka</span> scored ten, flashing some range in the process. The fourth quarter started on a similar arc for the Mavs, as Oklahoma City got out to a 95-80 lead with about seven and a half minutes remaining.</p>
<p>That's when <span>Salah Mejri</span> came into the game. It's also when things started to turn a corner. The Mavs began to battle back, getting to the rim and the foul line, playing scrappy defense, and going on a 19-5 run to cut the deficit to six at the 3:31 mark. A Chandler Parsons bucket forced the Thunder into a timeout, after which Mejri absolutely obliterated a Russ Westbrook layup attempt.</p>
<p>Mejri wasn't finished, though, as he'd later meet Kevin Durant at the rim and send him away full of shame. Unfortunately, OKC would come away on top, after Dallas had three looks in their final possession but couldn't make the game-tying shot.</p>
<p>Coming back after missing a game with knee issues, Dirk finished with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting.</p>
<p>All in all, here are four things we can take away from this game.</p>
<h4>#MoreMinutes4Mejri</h4>
<p>It seems like Mejri has earned more minutes than he's seeing in his two games against the Thunder, as he had five points, two rebounds, and two blocked shots in just seven minutes of playing time on Friday night. This is after a 17-point, nine rebound game the last time these two teams met.</p>
<p>Of course, <span>JaVale McGee</span> had a solid night as well, with 11 points and four rebounds, but his defense was lacking throughout the night.</p>
<p>I'd like to see more Mejri in the coming weeks, to see if he really is the budding impact player his potential indicates he could be.</p>
<h4>Dallas needs to figure things out on defense</h4>
<p>I understand that Oklahoma City is a good team, but the Mavericks allowed OKC to shoot 49.5% from the floor on the night. Yes, they clamped down a bit in the final minutes, but Dallas consistently got beaten in the paint, allowing the Thunder to play exactly the way they wanted to.</p>
<h4>The third quarter woes of late need to get fixed</h4>
<p>As noted above, the Mavs were outscored in the third quarter 37-18, which turned an eight-point lead into an 11-point deficit heading into the fourth. It was the fourth straight game Dallas has been outscored in the third quarter, which has seen Dallas be outscored 120-71.</p>
<h4>Parsons is almost all the way back<br>
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<p>Parsons managed 26 points on 50% shooting from the floor, to go with five rebounds, three assists, and a steal, in one of his most efficient nights this season. He attacked the rim with ferocity in the final minutes, and was one of the keys to Dallas' almost-comeback.</p>
<p>He's coming off of a 30-point performance against Minnesota, and has simply looked more comfortable on the court the last few weeks. It's absolutely incredible that he's recovered as quickly as he has from microfracture surgery, a procedure known more for destroying careers than anything else.</p>
<p>Next up, the Mavs head to Houston to take on the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/">Rockets</a> on Sunday afternoon.</p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2016/1/22/10818136/dallas-mavericks-oklahoma-city-thunder-final-score-109-106Jamie Plunkett2016-01-22T19:45:56-06:002016-01-22T19:45:56-06:00RC on Blatt: 'I'm embarrassed for our league'
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<p>Carlisle gives a thorough, disappointed reaction to Cleveland's firing of their head coach.</p> <p>David Blatt was fired on Friday afternoon, sending Twitter into an uproar and shocking most NBA observers. The <a href="https://www.fearthesword.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Cleveland Cavaliers</a> immediately hired assistant head coach <span>Tyronn Lue</span> and extended him on a three-year deal, making the change even though the team sits atop the Eastern Conference with a 30-12 record.</p>
<p><span>Rick Carlisle</span>, the president of the NBA Coaches Association, strongly defended David Blatt on Friday before the <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Mavericks</a>' game against the <a href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Thunder</a> with this incredibly thorough response, <a href="http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-mavericks/mavericks/2016/01/22/rick-carlisle-says-david-blatts-firing-embarrassed-league-something-like-happen-just-bizarre">as transcribed by the Dallas Morning News.</a></p>
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<p>"It's a shocker. It's just a real shocker. I've gotten to know David in the last year and a half since he came over and he's one of the greatest coaches in European history. The ironic thing about this is he adjusted and adapted to the NBA game, in my opinion, much quicker than any of us could have adjusted and adapted to the European game.</p>
<p>I mean, he did a tremendous job just from a strategic standpoint. If you look at his record, this is bizarre, but he has the second-best coaching record (by percentage) of all time in the NBA behind Phil Jackson. He's got a higher winning percentage than Red Auerbach and Pat Riley, a whole laundry list of the greatest coaches ever. The bottom line with this is that I know a couple of things about coaching in this league. I know integrity. And I know knowledge. I can't speak to the internal things that (might) have gone on in Cleveland. I've read some of the comments that came from the Cavaliers. Teams have a right to make changes.</p>
<p>But David Blatt is going to be a highly sought-after coach this summer, if and when there are openings -- if he chooses to stay. After this, you just hope a guy like this is still open to coaching in the NBA. I've coached against him many times. We had two exhibitions and we've had three regular-season game and we lost an overtime game to him and their team last week. He's done some phenomenal things adjusting to this league. I'm embarrassed for our league that something like this could happen. It's just bizarre. Now is Tyronn Lue going to coach the All-Star Game? It just leaves you with a bit of an empty feeling. Because Blatt's a great guy and he did a great job there.</p>
<p>Look, I'm very fortunate. I've got the greatest owner in sports history, in my opinion. We went through some rough times the first couple of years, and Mark could have bailed on me. But he stayed the course. He believed in me. I've learned a ton from him. I'm in a very strong position here with a long contract that's fully guaranteed, in large part because of the relationship that we've built and his belief in me. Change is an absolute in this business. Chuck Daly once said that the NBA is a league of dynamic change and great opportunity. When you see things like this, you never come to grips with such a statement, it's just really true. Blatt's a great guy and one of the best coaches in history. He'll be a Hall of Fame coach, no question, just purely on his European record and international record and Olympic record.</p>
<p>But in the meantime, everybody will have opinions and so forth. The other side of it is, a good man perhaps has been liberated and is now going to have some great options and he'll find a much better situation here if he wants it. And a guy like him deserves that."</p>
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<p>The Cavaliers' 132-98 blowout loss to the <a href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Golden State Warriors</a> on Monday surely impacted the team's decision to move away from Blatt, who it was also reported had lost some of his player's attention. Lue is an NBA veteran, younger and likely more relatable as a coach.</p>
<p>However, Blatt now has the highest win percentage ever for a coach who was fired. As Carlisle said, he should quickly find work somewhere else in the NBA. Really, his situation is one that a first-time head coach should never have to face.</p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2016/1/22/10817696/rick-carlisle-on-david-blatts-firing-im-embarrassed-for-our-leagueTim Cato2016-01-22T00:00:02-06:002016-01-22T00:00:02-06:00Mavs host OKC to conclude home stand
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<p>Red-hot Thunder make the trip down south to take on the Mavs for the second time in nine days.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Mavericks</a> are set to host the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> for the second time in nine days, except this time it should be for real. Nine days ago Thunder thumped the Mavs in a game <span>Rick Carlisle</span> chose to hold out all five of his starters. The other time the Mavs and Thunder went at it this season, Oklahoma City won a nail-biter, 117-114 on November 22nd. Can the Mavs win their third straight and are they still capable of playing 48 minutes of basketball at the AAC?</p>
<h4>What has Oklahoma City done lately?</h4>
<p>The Thunder ride into the AAC having won their last six games and are 9-2 in 2016. The hot streak may not be as scary as it seems when you actually take a closer look at it. The Thunder have beat only two teams in their six game run with winning records, Miami at home and the JV Mavs at home. However, they are coming off a 109-95 win against Charlotte in which <span>Kevin Durant</span> led the charge with 26 points and <span>Russell Westbrook</span> nearly notched yet another triple-double with 16 points, 15 assists, and 8 rebounds.</p>
<h4>What team stat might determine the game?</h4>
<p>It has to be turnovers. In a game in which the status of <span>Dirk Nowitzki</span> is in question (Carlisle said he will be listed as questionable), the Mavs cannot afford to be careless with the basketball. A Thunder offense led by Durant and Westbrook is capable to score any given possession and turnovers could lead to easy transition buckets that not only hurt Dallas on the scoreboard, but also could lose the momentum.</p>
<h4>What Mavericks player might be due for a big game?</h4>
<p>The easy choice here would be <span>Chandler Parsons</span>, given his recent run of success and the possible absence of Dirk. However, <span>Wesley Matthews</span> has shown up at different times in recent games (first half vs. Boston, fourth quarter and OT vs. Minnesota) and could be poised for a good complete game on both ends. Offensively, he could get his 3-point shot going and do some damage in the post based on matchups, but defensively he could draw the assignment of Russell Westbrook and/or Kevin Durant at different times and his effectiveness there will be key in whether or not the Mavs finish the home stand a perfect 3-0 or drop to 2-1.</p>
<h4>How to watch</h4>
<p><span>7:30 p.m. Central on Fox Sports Southwest, or on NBA League Pass via your streaming device of choice.</span></p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/game-coverage/2016/1/22/10811448/mavericks-host-oklahoma-city-thunder-game-previewSaad Yousuf