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2012 NBA Playoff Schedule: Mavericks Will Play Lakers On Sunday Or Thunder On Saturday

While the Dallas Mavericks first-round playoff opponent hasn't been set, there are only two possibilities left on the last night of the NBA's regular season: a 2/7 series with the Oklahoma City Thunder that would begin on Saturday or a 3/6 series with the Los Angeles Lakers that would begin on Sunday.

Dallas is currently at No. 7 at 36-29 while Denver is at No. 6 at 37-28; both teams play tonight, with the Mavericks facing the Atlanta Hawks and the Nuggets playing the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Denver should be in a pretty good position against a Minnesota team that has nothing to play for, so Dallas may act as if the 7 seed is already guaranteed tonight. Jason Kidd is unlikely to play, and it's unclear how many minutes Rick Carlisle will give his starters if the Mavericks have to start the playoffs on Saturday.

For all the latest news on the Mavericks playoff schedule, check out Mavs Moneyball.

Photographs by jamesbrandon, jdtornow, phlezk, flygraphix, mcdlttx, tomasland, and literalbarrage used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.