Bulls’ Alex Caruso voices eye-opening Thunder-Mavericks comparison

Regardless of how the second-round series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks turns out, their battle in this postseason won’t soon be forgotten. There is still at least one more game to play in the series, but the Thunder and the Mavs have already created an instant playoff classic, with each team trading blows and having moments at the expense of the other.

Another intriguing angle in the series was provided on Wednesday night by Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso, who sees the young Thunder squad as the younger version of the current Mavericks unit.

“It’s kind of like OKC is playing against the future version of themselves in Dallas. Two guys that you can kind of go to and then the rest of the guys they get us more experience,” Caruso said on NBA on TNT.

Caruso did not drop names but mentioned the Mavericks having a pair of go-to-guys. He was most likely referring to the tandem of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, which Caruso said mirrors that of the Thunder’s duo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and (most probably) Jalen Williams. Apart from those players, the Mavericks and the Thunder have several dependable players who provide solid production in support of the stars.

All that being said, the Thunder might not be too enamored of being compared as such to the Mavs. They want to be themselves and are not trying to pattern their success or trajectory in the NBA as a team after another group.

In any case, Caruso did raise a good point that is worth being discussed again. But for now, all the focus for the Thunder and the Mavs is on winning the series and clinching a berth in the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder have not been to that round of the playoffs since the time of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook back in 2016, while Doncic and the Mavs had been there as recently as 2022 when Doncic’s chief sidekick in the playoffs was still Jalen Brunson.

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