We won't know who the Dallas Mavericks will be facing in the 2011 Western Conference Finals, but we do know when they'll be playing. The Mavericks, regardless of who wins the Grizzles/Thunder series, will be the highest seeded team remaining in the Western Conference and will have home court advantage for the series.
The Western Conference Finals schedule is as follows:
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS (best-of-7)
Tues.: OKC/Memphis at Dallas, 8 p.m., ESPN
Thur.: OKC/Memphis at Dallas, 8 p.m., ESPN
May 21: Dallas at OKC/Memphis, 8 p.m., ESPN
May 23: Dallas at OKC/Memphis, 8 p.m., ESPN
x-May 25: OKC/Memphis at Dallas, 8 p.m., ESPN
x-May 27: Dallas at OKC/Memphis, 8 p.m., ESPN
x-May 29: OKC/Memphis at Dallas, 8 p.m., ESPN
x-if necessary
Dallas will have had more than a week off between the end of the Western Conference semifinals series against the Lakers and the start of the Western Conference Finals. Still, that rest will likely be beneficial to an aged team such as Dallas, while the Thunder and Grizzles will have played a full seven game series.
We'll see how much that rest pays off on Tuesday night as the Mavericks begin the road back to the NBA Finals.