The Dallas Mavericks defense prepares for a test against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder

The Dallas Mavericks prepare to play Oklahoma City in a big test of their strong postseason defense.

Although they are the second-youngest team in the NBA, the Thunder had the third-rated regular season offense (118.3) led by MVP finalist in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Alexander averaged 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists in the regular season. After Monday’s practice, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd spoke about the challenges of defending a player like Alexander.

“(Alexander) is one of the best young players in this league so he puts a lot of pressure on your defense and everyone gets a chance to guard him. Just understand that we’re coming off a streak with Paul George and Harden,” Kidd said, “so hopefully we can get some carryover from the defensive end to try to make things difficult for Shai and those guys.”

The best-of-seven series begins Tuesday at 8:30 PM on TNT in Oklahoma City.

This series will also be a test for Mavs centers Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford, who will face rookie sensation Chet Holmgren. A finalist for rookie of the year, Holmgreen averaged 16.5 points with 7.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 37% from three-point range.

Gafford explained the differences between Holmgren and his last opponent Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac.

“(Holmgren) stretches the floor a lot more, he’s a more dynamic guy. Zubac was more of a back to the basket, scared, scared, scared under the basket,” Gafford said.

Holmgren’s shooting makes him a unique challenge for the Mavs and can help pull their rim protectors to the perimeter, making scoring in the paint easier. However, the Mavs should be able to take advantage on the boards where the Thunder were weak.

The Mavs will also have a huge experience advantage over the Thunder, with Irving and Doncic having more playoff experience than any starter on the Thunder. However, Kidd pointed out that OKC is still an experienced team.

“They’re the number one team in the West, so they have the coach of the year in Mark (Daigneault) and so understanding, they’re experienced, they’ve been together for a while,” Kidd said. So just understand that until you can put them in an experience situation, they’re going to play basketball, they’re going to play the way they’ve played all season. So our job is to try to hopefully put them in a position where experience plays a role.”

The Mavs will enter the series without Maxi Kleber, who is sidelined with an AC Joint injury. Kleber’s ability to create space was crucial to the Mavs’ first-round win, and without him, Markieff Morris saw a bigger role.