30 Thunder Mavericks Game One Takeaways

30) In the first quarter, Dirk Nowitzki pretty much ended the idea that Serge Ibaka can guard him

29) Once again, there is no reason for DeShawn Stevenson to be on the floor, and Nick Collison to be off it

28) Kendrick Perkins is starting to get a little overboard in this whole enforcer role

27) Kevin Durant went coast to coast on a buzzer beating lay up in the first quarter, making $16.10 to win, $8.50 to place, and $4.30 to show

26) According to the ESPN announcers, it's always good offense *and* bad defense when the Mavericks score

25) Dallas went to a zone not because they can't stay in front of the Thunder on defense, but because OKC has somehow gotten to the last four teams while being bad shooters

24) Durant is such a good free throw shooter, he can overcome the "Ball Don't Lie" problem of making shots when he gets to the line on phantom calls

23) If you don't believe Durant or Dirk is the best player in the NBA after this game, I don't know what else I can say to convince you

22) I'm not sure that the Thunder have played a playoff game this year without crazy swings

21) Shawn Marion took a Perkins elbow, leading to a 5-on-4 score, a converted technical, and the rebirth of Mavs Conspiracy Fan

20) Watching Perkins try to score on Tyson Chandler in the post is downright sad

19) The tragedy of this series is at the end of it, either Mark Cuban or Glen Bennett will go to the Finals

18) At this point in Mark Jackson's broadcasting career, the Cookie Monster Mama Moment is just going to happen, despite the fact that it's the worst thing in NBA broadcasting history

17) If Dirk is going to get the foul calls that he got tonight in every game, the Mavs will sweep, and it will be Wade-esque

16) So much for the idea that the Mavs would be rusty

15) If you enjoy watching talented big men shoot free throws well, this game was positively orgasmic

14) With Mavs Fan also wearing blue and being uncomfortably white, these crowds are going to look a lot alike

13) In a shocking opinion, Jeff van Gundy feels that tagging a man in the face with a hard jab shouldn't be a technical foul

12) Scotty Brooks went to Nate Robinson when the game was actually in doubt, just to prove that every short player doesn't have to be effective

11) If the Thunder are going to foul on every defensive possession, it might help to stop doing it against Nowitzki

10) Mike Breen and Dallas Fan marks out for Barea in ways that usually require helium

9) I'd like to say that Barea embarrassed Robinson on a layup, but that implies that Robinson can be embarrassed

8) Honestly, I have no earthly idea what Robinson was doing on the floor in this game

7) For the number of dunks that the Thunder had in this game, you might think that they ever threatened

6) Putting Westbrook on Barea just plain works, and should have been done a long time ago

5) Dirk's foul on Durant is a flagrant if it's not committed by a star

4) Dallas might be the only team in the NBA where the Thunder doesn't have a free-throwing shooting advantage

3) The idea that the Thunder could be close in crunch time when Westbrook was this bad is kind of amazing

2) Dirk broke an all-time NBA record for perfection at the line, and even that wasn't the most impressive part of his game

1) By the end of this series, we might stop hearing about Dirk's height while shooting free throws, but that's not how you bet