The Oklahoma City Thunder play host to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals at Paycom Center on Tuesday.

This is Game 1 of the best-of-7 series. The winner will face the winner of the Denver-Minnesota series in the Western Conference Finals.

The Mavericks had to battle to get through the opening round, but they took care of the Los Angeles Clippers in six games. What's been fascinating about this team is the development of their defense. They were one of the best defensive teams in the opening round of the playoffs, which is something we definitely didn't see in the regular season. As long as they are doing that with Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic scoring 30 points apiece, this is a team no one wants to face.

The Thunder shocked the NBA world when they finished with the best record in the Western Conference, but a first-round sweep showed it was no fluke. This is one of the youngest teams to ever finish with the best record in the West but this club is full of talent. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the straw that stirs the drink for this team, likely finishing Top 3 in MVP voting this season. They also have Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams playing at All-Star levels, and it's scary to think how good this team might be in the future because they're already one of the best teams in the NBA.

Oklahoma City won three of their four regular-season games over Dallas. There were some lopsided results, with the Thunder winning by 49 points in the final matchup and the Mavs winning by 35 points back in February.