The NBA’s (totally awesome) second season is finally upon us. Now that the 16 postseason teams are officially set, we have a chance to further examine the craziness that sure to lie ahead. In our playoff preview series, we will take a look at some of the more intriguing questions surrounding these first round matchups.

Oklahoma City Thunder (3) vs Dallas Mavericks (6)

1. How much will J.J. Barea’s groin injury limit his scorching form of late?

In perhaps one of the strangest twists to an unbelievable season, Barea emerging as the Mavs' bellcow during their playoff push might be one of the league’s most unexpected developments. From their March 23rd game against Portland to their massive win against Houston on April 6th, Barea went bonkers. Barea averaged 21.3 points and 6.1 assists while shooting a white-hot 51.9 percent from the field. His insertion into the starting lineup was a key factor in those six straight wins that propelled the Mavs to the their matchup against the Thunder.

During Barea’s run, the Dallas offense completely cratered whenever he was off the floor -- falling from an 111.8 offensive rating to a dismal 92.4. While it’s unlikely that Barea, at age 31, is blossoming into an All-Star later in his career a la Steve Nash, this boost makes sense subjectively. Ever since Chandler Parsons was lost for the season, Rick Carlisle lost the one north-south player who could attack the paint in his whirring, side-to-side offense. Barea essentially usurped that role when handing a spot in the starting lineup and, more importantly, the keys to the offense.

Barea has always been a capable pick-and-roll player, particularly with the defense-warping force that is Nowitzki as his screening partner. What’s changed this year is that he’s shot the ball perhaps the best he’s ever had -- checking in at 38.5 percent from 3 (the second highest mark in his career, aside from his second year in the league) on 3.5 attempts (tied for the second highest of his career and nearly triple what he averaged in his sophomore campaign). In the simplest terms, because Barea can come off the pick-and-roll and routinely knock down shots like this…

….it forces defenders to trail over the screen and let Barea dart into the paint for his array of floaters, scoop-shots, inside-hand lineups and generally crafty finishes, like this one here:

Being forced to respect Barea’s ability to pull up off-the-bounce and knock down long-range shots with greater accuracy has put opposing defenses in a real bind. They can longer dart under screens and dare Barea to shoot behind with consistent success. And because of his impact of late, Thunder head coach Billy Donovan may have no choice but to sick his long-limbed defensive ace Anthony Roberson on him right from the start.

Another positive for the Mavs is that this matchup against OKC offers plenty of hiding spots for Barea on the defensive end of the floor. The Thunder routinely put at least one perimeter player on the floor (a problem we’ll look at it in a second) with limited offensive punch. That means the wizard-like Carlisle can feel free to crossmatch (or go zone) and keep his red-hot (and hopefully healthy) point guard on the floor to terrorize OKC’s defense, in particular, the defensively-challenged Enes Kanter -- a player who may as well wear a target on his back when Barea is in the game. To keep up with the Thunder, the Mavericks are going to need to score points. If Barea is healthy and humming, that could make this series much more competitive than expected.

2. So who can the Thunder play alongside their core four-man group that the Mavericks won’t exploit on one end of the floor?

This has been a year long issue for OKC. The quartet of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams have been and will be the driving force of the Thunder’s success in the regular season and playoffs. But OKC has tried and mostly failed when auditioning to find a suitable fifth member to share the court with that group.

Randy Foye has posted disastrous shooting percentages since arriving in a mid-season trade. Along with Andre Roberson and Kyle Singler the Thunder have three role players that will be the invisible men to Carlisle, who will utilize zones or send the players guarding them into spots heavily trafficked by Durant and Westbrook. Three-point ace Anthony Morrow would open up the floor for the Thunder stars, but with the Mavs multiple point guard lineups and whirring offensive scheme, Morrow would have nowhere to hide defensively.

Dion Waiters remains the best bet. He has been up-and-down all season before posting respectable percentages 42.2 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from 3 over the past month. But those numbers won’t deter Carlisle from altering his schemes to force Waiters to beat him while testing his discipline with his shot selection. Very few coaches can exploit weak links like Carlisle, so finding a way to generate production from their fifth member of their core lineup will be a major key for OKC.

3. If Billy Donovan fails to keep up with Rick Carlisle, what type of narrative will that produce?

Despite his national championships with the Florida Gators, Billy Donovan is entering a whole new arena. The NBA playoffs are a totally different animal unlike any other level of the sport. And unfortunately for Donovan, his first go-round at these stakes is against an absolute shark.

There is no debate that even with Nowitzki still around, the Thunder have, at the very least, the two best players on the floor. If Carlisle crafts gameplan after gamplan to neutralize the talent gap and perhaps steal the series, it will be interesting to see what follows.

Donovan will likely be reduced to pariah if a first round exit that sees him struggle to make obvious adjustments leads to the departure of Durant this summer. It also, in conjunction with the struggles of Fred Hoiberg and numerous others taking similar paths as those two, provide a death blow to the NCAA to NBA route for coaches. And it goes without saying that Sam Presti will be put under a harsher spotlight for his decisions on coaches over these past few seasons.

On the flip side, an upset win with this Mavs team will likely cement Carlisle’s status as one of the best of his generation -- though Carlisle’s legacy is already fairly safe. It will also perhaps reignite a conversation but how undervalued elite head coaches are in comparison to the salaries received from equally impactful players.  Whatever the reaction is should Dallas triumph in this series, it will no doubt produce an interesting discussion among a fans and executives alike.