The Mavericks are in the early stages of a lengthy six-game road trip, with their next game coming on Thursday night against the Magic in Orlando. A few hours before tip, reports emerged that Cooper Flagg would be taking the floor with his team for the first time in a while.
On Thursday NBA insider Marc Stein reported Flagg is expected to take the floor for the first time in nearly a month against the Magic. Flagg suffered a left foot sprain back in February and missed eight games while battling the injury; the time off he received during this year’s All-Star break wasn’t quite enough for him to fully recover. The standout rookie has been watching from the sidelines since February 12 and Dallas has gone 2–6 without him.
It’s obviously great news for Flagg. The 19-year-old enjoyed a successful start to his NBA career over the first half of the season and is averaging a hair over 20 points per game to go with 6.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per night. The time he’s missed allowed his former Duke teammate, Kon Kneuppel, to emerge as the favorite for this season’s Rookie of the Year award but Dallas must be pleased with what Flagg has brought to the table in his first campaign.
It’s also interesting timing given Flagg’s impending homecoming. The first pick in the 2025 NBA draft, Flagg is a Maine native. The Mavericks are slated to play their first and only game of the season in Boston against the Celtics on Friday. Flagg will undoubtedly have plenty of family and friends making the trip to TD Garden to watch him take the parquet for the first time as a professional. The game already has plenty going for it with the day’s news that Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum could return from his Achilles injury that night as well.
The question is whether Flagg is going to play in light of Thursday’s development. On the one hand it’s hard to imagine Flagg missing his first shot at playing in front of his more-or-less hometown crowd, especially if he’s healthy. On the other hand the Mavs will be looking out for his long-term health and may prefer Flagg sit out the second night of this back-to-back stretch given he’s suiting up Thursday against Orlando. Ultimately the decision will likely come down to Dallas’s recovery plan for the young star, as well as how many minutes he plays versus the Magic given it’s been a while.
Regardless, Flagg is back in action. We’ll find out in the next 24 hours whether that means he’ll be able to play in Boston.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg Gets Major Injury Update As Homecoming Game in Boston Looms.
