Preview: Mavericks (0-2) at Thunder (3-0)

Earl K. Sneed previews the Mavericks' nationally-televised matchup in Oklahoma City, as the defending champions take the court looking for their first win against the unbeaten Thunder.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- After back-to-back games to open the 2011-12 season in which the defending champion Dallas Mavericks were caught off guard, the team will take the court Thursday night hoping the third time is the charm.

Following up a 105-94 Christmas Day loss to the Miami Heat with a 115-93 defeat a night later to the Denver Nuggets, the Mavericks (0-2) and coach Rick Carlisle went back to the drawing board hoping to rekindle the magic that led to last season’s title run. And with his team in defensive disarray, the coach took the back-to-back losses all on his shoulders, vowing to have his players better prepared despite limited practice time.

“I’m the head coach and it’s my job to make sure these guys are ready to play, and it’s clear that they’re not,” Carlisle said following Monday night’s loss. “Right now, that’s not something that’s easy for me to say and it’s not an easy thing to live with. I’ve got a lot of work to do. … I’ve got to have these guys ready to play.”

But now the Mavs have another formidable challenge in front of them, with two-time scoring champion Kevin Durant and All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook leading the Oklahoma City Thunder’s offensive charge. And with the unbeaten Thunder (3-0) out to avenge its series defeat in five games of the Western Conference finals last season, Carlisle and his players understand the challenge at hand.

“Every team we’re playing is going to be a good team. In some way, in some part, it’s just because we’re defending champions. … We’ve got to understand that this effort is going to come at us every night from everybody. They’re going to be lined up. That’s just how it goes,” the coach explained.

Meanwhile, the Mavs believe the simple cure to their ailing play on the court is at the defensive end, after surrendering 97 points through three quarters in both of their early-season losses.

Rallying around a team defense that has suffered, the Mavs hope to change their fortunes by recommitting to the persistent effort that lifted the squad to its first championship in franchise history. And believing that will lead to easier opportunities on offense -- after being held below 43 percent shooting from the field in both games -- the Mavs and their renewed defensive intensity will take the court looking for a far different result.

“It all really starts defensively,” Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki said. “We’re having problems getting stops and then our offense looks bad, too, because we can’t play out of flow. We’ve got to take the ball out. We’ve got to play a slow-down game. We weren’t good at that even last year.”

“We all together collectively have to get this thing done, but it starts on the defensive end. There’s no secret. If you can’t get stops in this league it’s gonna put pressure on your offense,” reserve guard Jason Terry added.

With that said, the Mavs also hope to receive a spark at both ends of the court from their many newcomers.

While big man Sean Williams stole the show Monday night with his high-octane play and 12 points on 4-for-4 from the floor to go along with three rebounds in 11 minutes of action, reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lamar Odom -- who is 2-for-16 in two games -- has gotten off to a slow start in the new system. New pieces Delonte West and Vince Carter have also admittedly gone through up and down moments, with the backup point guard scoring 10 points against Miami and the eight-time All-Star posting 11 points versus Denver, respectively.

Thursday night, the Mavs hope to finally put it all together after reconvening from a day off with Wednesday’s practice before heading north to Oklahoma City.

“Once we get that second wind we’re starting to show form of a pro basketball team,” West explained. “It’s sad that we wait till we get down 30 to do it. But honestly, a win is a win, a loss is a loss. If we had lost by two it’s still a loss.”

He added: “[Wednesday], we had a great practice, great conditioning, a great defensive day for us. And just watching the tape, we didn’t even have to say too much in the locker room. Just watching the tape explains itself. … We expect bigger and better things out of ourselves and we’re not gonna dwell on those first two games.”

The Mavs now hope to integrate the new faces on the fly, looking to continue to work in the supporting cast in time to contend with a Thunder squad that swept the two teams’ home-and-home preseason series. And with the Thunder arguably at the head of the class in the West, the Mavs know they’ll have a chance to grade themselves up against one of the league’s elite in a nationally-televised showdown.

“They’ve been together,” Carlisle simply said when comparing the Thunder to last season. “They do a lot of the little things better. They have a familiarity with each other. And they’re a high-motor team. So, again, that means we’re gonna have to be back and be in a stance defensively.”

The Mavs-Thunder matchup will air nationally on TNT at 7 p.m. CT.

The team returns to Dallas to face off with the Toronto Raptors on Friday night, with that game set to air on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS (6287).

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Rivalry Pack: Aside from being a season ticket holder, the only way for Mavs fans to attend either of the two Los Angeles Lakers games is through the Rivalry Pack. Tickets to the Feb.22 and March 21 games vs. the Los Angeles Lakers can be purchased as part of a three-game package that includes one (1) of the three premium games and two (2) additional regular season games.

RPL Nights: RPL Nights return for the sixth season and will feature special discounted tickets for 10 pre-selected games. Tickets normally priced $9 will be $2, $15 will be $10, $31 will be $20 and $42 will be $32.