Spurs vs. Mavericks: 3 things you need to know

EAST
(1) IND vs. (8) ATL | (2) MIA vs. (7) CHA
(3) TOR vs. (6) BKN | (4) CHI vs. (5) WAS
WEST
(1) SAS vs. (8) DAL | (2) OKC vs. (7) MEM
(3) LAC vs. (6) GSW | (4) HOU vs. (5) POR

The San Antonio Spurs had long since wrapped up the top record in the entire NBA, and so they'll take on the lowest seed in the West, the Dallas Mavericks. Of course, Dallas went 49-33, so this isn't exactly Goliath sitting back and awaiting his David.

The Spurs host the Mavericks on Sunday to open up the seven-game series. Here are the three things you need to know:

Rest and be thankful

As mentioned, the Spurs had the top seed more or less in hand for some time, finishing three games up on Oklahoma City for the league's best record despite losing their final two games and four of their last seven. That 19-game winning streak sure helped.

Because of that, the Spurs enter the playoffs better rested than maybe any other team. With an average age of 28.9, the Spurs are the league's fourth-oldest team, but head coach Gregg Popovich managed the workloads such that the Spurs are the first team since the ABA/NBA merger in 1976 to not have a single player average 30 minutes a game.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, didn't clinch a playoff spot until the season's final week, requiring them to task four players with 2,400 minutes or more, only one of whom is under the age of 32. Dallas, by the way, is also tied with Miami as the league's oldest team, with an average age of 30.6.

Two of the greatest, one more time

Tim Duncan entered the NBA in 1997 and Dirk Nowitzki followed in 1998. More or less since that time, Duncan and Nowitzki have been assaulting NBA record books, establishing themselves as two of the greatest power forwards in the history of the league.

Consider how they compare on the all-time leaderboards:

Not only do they share space on the leaderboard, they have a storied history against each other. In fact, they've squared off 52 times in regular season action, with Duncan's Spurs winning 31 times to just 21 for Nowitzki's Mavericks. They've also played 26 times in the playoffs, with Duncan holding a 14-12 edge.

Glass Shatters

Oops, sorry, that's another legend from the state of Texas.

Glass will play a big factor in this series, however, as the Mavericks rank 25th in the league in defensive rebounding. They pull in just 72.7 percent of opponent misses and also rank below-average on the offensive end, grabbing 24.6 percent of available rebounds there.

The Spurs aren't an over-aggressive glass-crashing team - they're a spot below Dallas, grabbing 22.7 percent of their own misses - but are elite on their own boards at 76.6 percent.

Said differently, the Spurs are far more likely than the Mavericks to extend their own possessions and end the opponent's possessions quickly. That hurts the Mavericks, who are slightly better than the Spurs, on a per-possession basis, on offense, but significantly worse on defense.

Schedule