It sure didn’t take the Dallas Mavericks long to hit their first back-to-back of the season, did it? But forget the schedule for a second. The real headline from Friday night, after the Mavs pulled off a 121-105 upset over the Indiana Pacers, is way bigger than a scoreboard. Cooper Flagg, #32, left that game with a shoulder injury just before halftime. Mavs PR is calling it “shoulder soreness,” but word is, Flagg is out for the home opener Saturday night against the San Antonio Spurs. Coach Dusty May confirmed after the game that Flagg, who was already cooking with 17 points, five boards, and six assists in just 17 minutes, will be evaluated over the coming days. Talk about a gut punch.
Spurs Are Desperate, But So Are the Mavericks Now
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs are limping into Dallas at a rough 0-2. They just dropped a four-point loss to the Houston Rockets, and frankly, no one in San Antonio expected this kind of start, especially after they went to the NBA Finals last year as the reigning Western Conference champs. The Spurs have faced two pre-season contenders in the West, but the urgency to avoid a three-game skid is gonna be sky-high. Now, both these squads are on the butt end of a back-to-back, and Dallas had to travel a good ways from Indiana. You gotta figure we’ll see some rest and workload management from both benches. The Mavs definitely get a boost from it being their home opener, but even with the travel, this Spurs team is still awfully tough to beat, especially with what just went down with Flagg.
Wemby’s Vengeance Is Brewing, And Who Steps Up for Dallas?
This brings us to the big man, Victor Wembanyama. Dude had a rough opener, shooting an abysmal 1-for-13 against the Thunder. He didn’t get much of a break on physicality or defensive intensity against the Rockets either. But here’s the kicker: the Mavericks don’t present anywhere near the physical or tactical defensive challenge that those two teams did. And guess what? Wemby has absolutely torched Dallas before. Last year, he dropped 40 points on them twice and 29 in another meeting. I’m telling you, expect the Frenchman to have a lot of success in this matchup.
On the other side, with Flagg sidelined, the question for Dallas becomes: who the heck steps up? In the opener, Flagg picked right back up where he left off last season, dropping 32 points on a stout Rockets defense. But the problem for the Mavericks in that game was a complete lack of help from anyone not named Marcus Sasser. Now, with Flagg out of the lineup for at least the home opener, that “lack of help” issue is gonna hit even harder. The Mavs need guys to step up big time if they want to get this home stand started right.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Mavs Moneyball.
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