Overview
- Dallas (1-2) faces Oklahoma City (3-0) at American Airlines Center on Monday at 7:30 PM CT, marking the Mavericks’ toughest opponent of the young season.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has opened at an MVP pace, highlighted by a 55-8-5 performance as the defending champions rolled through three wins.
- Rookie Cooper Flagg emerged in Dallas’s bounce-back win over Toronto with 22 points and confident playmaking in expanded facilitator duties.
- The Thunder are expected to be without Jalen Williams, Isaiah Joe, and Alex Caruso, with Chet Holmgren listed as questionable due to a back issue.
- Dallas’s ball-security issues (41 turnovers over the past two games) collide with OKC’s pressure scheme that produced 12, 6, and 13 takeaways in its first three outings.