Cooper Flagg still sidelined by foot injury as Mavericks suffer loss to Grizzlies

The crowd at American Airlines Center fell silent as Naji Marshall lay writhing on the floor following a hard collision in the second quarter.

Marshall drew an offensive foul on the play and slowly walked to the locker room before later returning. But the Mavericks never regained their rhythm, and eight players scored in double figures for the Memphis Grizzlies in a 124-105 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

Coming off a career-high 36 points in 42 minutes against Sacramento, Marshall struggled after re-entering the game, and Dallas’ offense stalled without its usual spark. Marshall finished with just four points in 23 minutes. The Mavericks shot just 25% in the first quarter and were outscored 76–48 across their last two opening periods, digging holes they could not escape.

The loss was Dallas’ second straight and closed its four-game “Tankathon series” at 2-2. The Mavericks dropped games to Memphis and Sacramento while beating Indiana and Brooklyn, finishing the stretch at 21-38 and seventh in the draft lottery standings.

Memphis played without Ja Morant and Zach Edey, while Dallas was shorthanded by injuries and rest, including absences from Cooper Flagg, Marvin Bagley III, Klay Thompson, Caleb Martin and P.J. Washington.

Here are three thoughts:

Rookie of the Year

For the first time this season Charlotte Hornets swingman Kon Knueppel has better odds to win  the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award than Cooper Flagg, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. 

With Flagg missing his sixth straight game with a foot injury the race has severely tightened due to the Hornets guard’s elite play.

Knueppel is averaging 19.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 44.2 percent from 3-point range. His  true shooting percentage of 65.5% is the highest in NBA history among rookies averaging at least 18 points per game.

Flagg was held out of the Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star weekend because of the injury. It would have been his first experience at the NBA’s showcase event.

On the season, Flagg has played in 49 games for the Mavericks, averaging 20.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals. He remains the favorite to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.

Flagg and Knueppel were expected to match up for the second time this season when the Mavericks travel to Charlotte on Tuesday. But, that seems unlikely to Mavericks coach Jason Kidd.

“Probably not,” Kidd said in response to a question about if Flagg will play on Tuesday.

Khris Middleton’s future 

While Anthony Davis was the major name in the trade that sent the 10 time All-Star to the Washington Wizards, the Mavericks got back a familiar face.

Middleton has never played for the Mavericks, but he spent four seasons playing under Kidd in Milwaukee. Kidd took over as the Milwaukee Bucks’ coach in 2014 as Middleton was about to enter his third year in the NBA. 

“It’s a full-circle moment,” Middleton said to reporters. “Just because he had me at such a young age. And now being with him, it’s fun. We get to laugh at some of our horror stories and how we used to terrorize each other back in the day. But now it’s cool. Everything he told me was true.”

But, Kidd and Middleton’s reunion might be cut short due to the veteran being a possible buyout candidate for contending teams.

Middleton just told DLLS Sports’ Marc Stein that  he is still weighing his options in advance of Sunday’s deadline to pursue a contract buyout. He can choose whether to finish the season in Dallas or join a playoff team.

“That’s up to Khris,” Kidd said in response to Middleton’s timeline with the team. “We support whatever decision he makes if he’s going to stay or if he’s gonna get bought out. But I think he’s gotta make that decision here pretty quick.”

Middleton will be a coveted player if he and the Mavericks decide on a contract buyout before Sunday’s deadline. Players must agree to contract buyouts with their old teams before March 1 to be eligible to play in the postseason with another club.

Stein reported that the Denver Nuggets are one of the teams who have shown interest in the 14-year swingman.

Ticket prices

Last year, the Mavericks notified season ticket holders that rates were increasing weeks after making the controversial Luka Dončić-for-Davis trade. Tickets on the floor and terrace levels saw the steepest hikes, increasing by as much as 20 percent, according to The Athletic.

But, this season things are changing. The Dallas Mavericks will not be raising season ticket prices ahead of next season.

Mavericks CEO Rick Welts joined the team’s broadcast in the second quarter of the Mavericks loss to the Kings and said team governor Patrick Dumont chose to keep ticket prices flat because he understands Dallas didn’t meet expectations this year.

“It was one of the strangest meetings I’ve been in in my 48 years in the league, where you sit down with the owner,” Welts said on the broadcast. “The staff has done two months of work to figure out where tickets might be underpriced.

“Patrick preempted the conversation before it got started and said, ‘Look, we didn’t deliver this year. We didn’t deliver on the team as expected. We’re not going to raise one ticket price this year.’ A popular decision. The right one as well.”

Welts said that the Mavericks’ focus is to continue building around Flagg

“I feel like we turned the page in what’s been a really difficult chapter in Mavericks history,” Welts said. “And we have a plan. We have a generational player we are going to build around and create that kind of championship-caliber (team).”