Last-minute Changes, Reports and News ahead of Mavericks vs. Thunder

One year ago tonight, Cooper Flagg played against the Oklahoma City Thunder for the first time in his career. He scored just two points. One for nine from the field in 31 minutes, and Dallas was minus 20 with him on the floor. Tonight, he gets them again. Same building, and this time, the Thunder walk into Dallas missing six players. Two of those are starters who went under the knife this week, and it's the softest the Thunder are ever going to look all year. But the Mavs have their own problems as well, starting with Kyrie in a report this morning that has everybody talking about his future. We'll get to all of it here in today's show. Let's start with the big one. Sunday night against the Clippers, 1-14 left in the fourth quarter. Jalen Williams lands awkwardly on a drive. We all saw the video. Game stopped for about five minutes. They had to bring out a stretcher. And on Monday, it was confirmed that it was a broken left fibula and a dislocated left ankle that will require surgery. Sam Presti came out and said there was no timetable and there won't be one until after the surgery. AP says it's reasonable to think that he could probably miss the rest of the season. That's a former All-Star and All-NBA wing. and, honestly, nobody wants to see that. You hope he comes back all the way, and it was a gruesome injury that we hope he recovers from fully. In that same game, though, they also lost Kaysen Wallace as he tore the labrum in his left shoulder. He has surgery as well. He was all defensive last season. And it doesn't stop there for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Chet Holmgren is out with a right knee tendonitis, his second straight game. Alex Caruso sprained his right ankle on Monday. Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber are still out after surgeries. So what did the Thunder do the next night? Without Williams, without Wallace, well, they beat the Phoenix Suns 125-114. A.J. Mitchell dropped a career-high 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Now, he himself is also questionable tonight with a right ankle sprain. Keep an eye out on that one because if he can't go Oklahoma City, they're running out of guards. They always will still have MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who's averaging 27.3 points a game through four games this season. Mark Dagnall put it simply, quote, He's amazing in every situation. And the defense is still elite. Through four games, OKC is holding teams to 100.8 points per game on 41.2% shooting and forcing nearly 20 turnovers a game. Remember that number, though, as it's going to come back later. Hartenstein is still there in the middle. Jared McCain is still there off the bench. This is not a G League team, but they're definitely down. Now, when asking Isaiah Hartenstein about playing this short and this thin, he said, quote, We don't really have a choice. We're a no-excuse team. And it's true, because they keep winning. They're 4-0, AP says they're only the second team ever to open three straight seasons 4-0. We're in tonight, and they're the first team in NBA history to start 5-0 in three straight seasons, and that's what's on the line for them in Dallas. After tonight, they play eight of their next ten games on the road, so they'll be living out of a suitcase while they figure out life without two starters. Now, of course, the Mavs side, what you're here for. It's not really clean, either. Kyrie Irving is questionable. The tag is left knee injury management. It's not a new injury, that's the Mavs managing a guy coming back from a torn ACL. He sat Saturday against the Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back. Then Monday in Miami, he played 33 minutes with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Dusty Mays sat on the Spurs' call and leaving him out, saying, quote, it was several conversations, and there wasn't one thing that tilted one way or another. So for tonight, it seems like it's a real coin flip. The upside is, on Friday night in Indianapolis, he had 24 points in 25 minutes. So the upside is very much there with Kyrie. If he sits, Marcus Sasser will likely get the bigger role at guard. Why Marcus Sasser will surge at Elaria is out. He sprained his right knee in Miami, and he only played in six minutes. But that's why the addition of Walter Clayton Jr. matters. He came in for Delaria Monday and was plus 22 in 17 minutes, and he's already used four of his 52-way games. Najee Marshall has an illness. Caleb Martin has a right thumb. They are both questionable, and Martin has not played a game yet this season. But to be fair, I don't really know if I want Caleb out there anyways. Sami Aldama, who just got called back from the G League to kind of, you know, work on that injury, he is doubtful. Terrence Brovich is also doubtful as well. Aldama, of course, practiced with the Texas Legends, as we mentioned yesterday. So he's close, but it's probably not going to be just yet for him tonight. And of course, Derek Lively is still out from his right foot surgery. So the Mavs are 2-2, and it's been a ride. Lost the opener in Houston, won in Indiana, lost at home versus the Spurs, then won in Miami. And the schedule is going to finally start helping them out. Tonight starts a run of six home games in the next seven. Now, of course, the story everybody is talking about today. Quickly though, if you're new here, this is what we do on Mavericks Digest. Every game, every move, every rumor, hit subscribe as we're at 26,500 and we want to get to 30,000 and we're going live for tonight's game versus the Thunder. ESPN's Tim McMahan wrote that if Dallas ever does decide to move Kyrie, league sources expect, quote, a robust market for him. He called Kyrie an eight-time All-Star, quote, with a long track record of playoff production. Now, I want to be clear, nobody has reported talks. This is what people around the league expect would happen if Dallas ever picked up the phone. And back on October 6th, McMahan said he wouldn't be stunned if Kyrie got moved at the deadline. And here's the reason it even comes up. McMahan points out Dallas doesn't control its own first-round pick for the next four years, partially because of that deal that bought Kyrie in. Now, he's 34 years old. He's making $39.5 million a season with a player option for $42.4 million next season. So let's add it up. A guy coming off an ACL tear at 34 years old on a big number in a market that is still very robust for him. And it's because he can still do what he has done in the past. 19 points per game in three games back, and an 81.3% on two-point shots. And Kyrie answered it himself, quote, Then there's also this, saying, quote, Now he's talking about the trade rumor mill and how he's trying to protect the young locker room from all of that. The big thing on this is that I don't think anything happens soon, but the Mavericks are in a position where if the deadline comes, the Mavs need picks, and if they are in a situation where the season is struggling, it feels like you're faltering, well, then that conversation gets louder and louder from Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz to hear. So tonight, it's a good time to see what Kyrie can do and hopefully play and remind everybody why he's worth keeping. Which brings us all the way back to Cooper Flagg. As a rookie, played the Thunder twice. Two points in Dallas, 16 points in OKC. It was nine points a game, his lowest against any team last year. OKC swept the Mavs 3-0 last season, and the defense ate him up. This year, it's a different player for Flack. Not only does he have a year of experience under his belt, but he's averaging 25 points with 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. And Monday, Miami, coming off an injury, 29 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 blocks. James Harden is the only other player in NBA history with a line like that. And remember how his rookie year ended, 51 points against Orlando on April 4th, the youngest player ever to score 50 in an NBA game, then, of course, rookie of the year. Dusty Mays said, quote, That's one thing about Koop. The ball comes out of his hand at the right time. Now here's the matchup. On one side, SGA at 27.3 a game. On the other, Flagg at 25 and Kyrie at 19, if Kyrie plays though. For years, OKC has had the second and third score to take the pressure off Shea. Tonight, Williams is gone. Chet's in street clothes. That's the opening. Without Chet in the paint, it's going to very much open up where P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford have to live tonight. The danger, of course, is that the Thunder force turnovers, 19.5 a game. The Mavs are turning over 18.5 times a game. You can kind of see the problem. So that's the game in one picture. Dallas is shooting nearly 50% and dishing 27 assists a game, but the turnovers, they hand them right back so often. So where does that leave us for tonight? The books still have OKC favored by about 6.5 on the road. That tells you how much respect Shea gets, even with half the rotation out. Ultimately, I think if Kyrie plays, the Mavs can win this game. The flag has been waiting for this game for a while, the Thunder are running on fumes, and the Mavericks are trying to ride high at home in front of their own crowd. Kyrie plays, I really do think this is a time for the Mavericks to take a stranglehold of what this team can be moving forward. However, if Kyrie sits, it's closer to a coin flip, and it comes down to turnovers. And without Sergio Delladore being the assist guy, it becomes even harder. Three things I'm going to watch for tonight. One, does flag get going early, or does the defense that crowded him last year do the same thing this year? Two, the turnovers. If you can keep it under 15, I think the Mavericks can win this game. Over that mark, you've got to start looking at how many points the Thunder are getting off of those turnovers. And then three, and this one is more of a long-term thing, but I want to mention it. Walter Clayton Jr. Does he keep his minutes if the roster gets healthier? Obviously, we know with the injuries, he's going to play a lot more, especially with the potential for no Sergio Delladore and no Kyrie Irving. But does he keep that going when everybody's healthy? But this is the chance that you don't get. The Thunder is going to be a good team. take this shot because you won't get it often so let me know in the comments mavs win the night or the thunder stay perfect in for mavs t for thunder let us know down in the comment section we'll be live for this one the entire time so come check us out probably around 8 15 central time we'll be live so we appreciate you watching and we'll see you for that peace out