Mavericks Enter Pelicans Game With 8 Players Ruled Out

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks are resting Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving on Wednesday against the New Orleans Pelicans, two of eight players the team ruled out for its third preseason game. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center.

Six more Mavericks are out with injuries or illness. Daniel Gafford has a right shoulder stinger, Morez Johnson Jr. has right shin splints, and Marcus Sasser has left adductor tightness. Jett Howard is out with an illness, while Santi Aldama (right knee surgery) and Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery) remain sidelined.

Mavericks coach Dusty May said Friday’s preseason finale against the Atlanta Hawks will be more of a dress rehearsal game. Wednesday is the first of two home games for Dallas after the team returned from Macao.

May is starting Naji Marshall and Max Christie at guard, with Zaccharie Risacher and P.J. Washington Jr. at forward and Moussa Cissé at center. Marshall, Christie, and Risacher also started Friday’s opener in Macao, when Johnson opened at center. Washington started Sunday after a left ankle sprain kept him out of the first game.

On Sunday, Risacher scored 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting, and Christie and Marshall each finished with 14. Marshall added 3 steals. Atlanta took Risacher first overall in 2024 before trading him to Dallas in July. Cissé averaged 14.7 points and 13.1 rebounds in 15 games with the Texas Legends last season, and Dallas kept him in July by matching a two-year offer sheet from the New York Knicks.

Cooper Flagg And Kyrie Irving Rest After Win Over Houston Rockets

Both players started Sunday, when Dallas beat the Houston Rockets 132-115 at The Venetian Arena to even its preseason record at 1-1. Irving scored a team-high 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting in 22 minutes in his first game since tearing the ACL in his left knee on March 3, 2025. He had 14 of those points by halftime and did not play in the fourth quarter.

Two days earlier, Irving sat out Friday’s 135-117 loss to Houston. Flagg, the reigning Rookie of the Year, started both games in Macao and had 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists in 25 minutes Sunday.

Gafford started at center Sunday and finished with 9 points on 3-of-3 shooting in 14:38. In Friday’s opener, he came off the bench behind Johnson and made a 3-pointer, the second attempt from beyond the arc of his NBA career.

Morez Johnson Jr. Lands On Injury Report As Dereck Lively II Stays Out

Johnson rested Sunday, two days after he started at center in his NBA debut. He had 4 points on 1-of-3 shooting, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in 12 minutes Friday. Dallas took Johnson ninth overall in June after he played for May at Michigan.

Wednesday is the third straight game Sasser has missed. The team listed him with left adductor soreness for both games in Macao. Dallas acquired the guard from the Detroit Pistons in a six-team trade on July 8.

Howard appeared in both games in Macao. The Mavericks signed him to a two-way contract on July 20. He averaged 5.5 points and shot 37.2% from 3-point range in 55 games for the Orlando Magic last season, three years after Orlando drafted him 11th overall.

Lively has not played since Nov. 21, 2025, when Dallas faced New Orleans. He had surgery on his right foot in December, his second procedure on that foot in roughly six months after a July 2025 operation to remove bone spurs. Before Sunday’s game in Macao, May said he would leave Lively’s return date to the medical staff.

“I’ll defer to the medical staff on that. I know this, he’s moving well,” May said. “We see him regularly getting treatment, doing things on the court. There’s just a return to play protocol that everyone goes through. It’s a little bit unique, but he’s in good spirits.”

“He’s working every day, and whenever he’s back, he’s going to have a major impact on this team,” May continued.

Aldama has not played in the preseason either. He had an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee on March 17, when he was still with the Memphis Grizzlies, and he has been limited in training camp since Dallas acquired him in a July 1 trade. In 43 games for Memphis last season, Aldama averaged career highs of 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds.

New Orleans enters Wednesday at 1-1 in the preseason after a win over Oklahoma City and a loss at Miami. Dallas hosts the Hawks on Friday at 7 p.m. CT and opens the regular season Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. CT in Houston.