The NBA is back on Thursday night, and we could see some players show signs of rust after a long layoff during the All Star break. The Mavs are in Oklahoma City, and they'll have Amare Stoudamire in the lineup after recently acquiring the veteran forward from the Knicks. We should expect it to take time for him to adjust in the Mavs offense, and tonight's game is likely to be a little sloppy. With the total on the high side, we'll make a play on the under.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Oklahoma City Defense - With Westbrook and Durant sidelined earlier this season, the Thunder were forced to play hard on defense just to remain competitive. It may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as they still rank in the top half of the league in scoring defense, allowing opponents to average just 98.8 points per game.

2. Previous History - The last two meetings in this series were high scoring games, both played in Dallas. The previous four meetings all failed to reach the total, and three of those games were in Oklahoma City.

3. X-Factor - The Mavericks have seen four of their last five road games go under the total, and they've seen the total go under at a rate of 16-7-1 in their last 24 trips to Oklahoma City.

Selection: This is a play on the Mavs@Thunder to go UNDER the total (10*)