Three Thoughts - Thunder beat Mavs, Gm 1

Dallas never looked comfortable offensively, nor do they ever threaten Game 1 win.

Just not a very enjoyable night of Game 1s in these parts.

The Dallas Mavericks were trounced in Oklahoma City in Game 1 of this best-of-seven Western Conference Semifinals. A 117-95 beatdown at the hands of the young Thunder.

The game got quickly out of hand in the second half as the Thunder ended with a 51-30 frenzy of 3s and dunks.

Game 2 will be Thursday.

These are my Three Thoughts:

– This was a good indicator of the challenge in front of Dallas in Round 2. They are playing the top seed in the West and despite not fearing Oklahoma City as some of the more traditional powers, it is time for all of us to understand how strong that opponent is and how much the Mavericks are going to have to raise their game to match the standard here in the 2nd Round (or it won’t last very long).

There are some "non-negotiables" in this series, and it goes a little something like this: If you are going to get outshot that badly, then you better not also get beaten in the paint, on the glass, in steals, and off the bench. However, as you probably can surmise, Dallas lost every single one of these categories, and there was nothing close to a lifeline to help save them.

The current issue is the efficiency of the offense. The Mavericks are used to opponents being able to score the ball, but there will be nights— especially on the road — where the Mavericks' arsenal must keep pace. On this occasion, especially after Oklahoma City started figuring out the Dallas defense and foul trouble played its role, Dallas had no answer. Why? Well, quite simply, they cannot get enough points per possession.