Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg was forced out of Friday’s game at Indiana with a left shoulder injury after a hard foul on him Aaron Nesmith on a quick break, I agree Christian Clark of The Athletic.
According to Clark, Flagg was injured late in the second quarter when Dallas was up 33 points. Nesmith received a flagrant foul 1 for the game and he and Nazi marshal both received technicals after Marshall came to the defense of his teammate, tweets Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.
While Flagg stayed in the game to make — and make — two free throws, he was substituted immediately afterward and later ruled out with a sore left shoulder. Marshall started the second half with the reigning Rookie of the Year out, adds Curtis (via Twitter).
Clark notes that Flagg was in the midst of a stellar game before the injury, posting 14 points, six assists, five rebounds, three steals and a block in just 17 minutes. Head coach Dusty May said Flagg would be “estimated in the next couple of days,” said Mark Stein of The Stein Line (Link to Twitter), suggesting the 19-year-old could be ruled out for Saturday’s home opener against San Antonio.
“Nesmith is a great guy. A great player. I’ve known him since high school. An unfortunate performance” May said of the incident (Link to video on Twitter from Curtis). “Hopefully Coop is okay, but obviously we’d rather not have that happen.”
Here’s some more noteworthy injury news from around the NBA:
- Another former No. 1 overall pick and Rookie of the Year winner, Magic forward Paolo Buncherafelt sore right ankle during Friday’s home loss to Minnesota (Link to Twitter via command). His return in the fourth quarter was considered questionable and he did not return to the court with the game out of reach as the Magic lost their second straight game to fall to 0-2. As Jason Bead of The Orlando Sentinel tweetshead coach Sean Sweeney didn’t offer much information on Buncher after the loss, other than to confirm he has a sore ankle and said he will continue to be evaluated.
- Center of stars Jalen Durenwho re-signed with Pistons this offseason on a five-year, $200 million deal as a restricted free agent, injured his right hip during Friday’s road game at Miami, the team announced (via Twitter). While Duren is considered questionable to return, Paul Reed began the third quarter, notes Amari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Link to Twitter), and Duren has not registered yet.
- A great man Very Igadarawho appeared in all 82 regular season games for The sun last season, will miss Saturday’s contest with a strained right oblique, per Dwayne Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Link to Twitter). Head coach Jordan Ott Rankin adds that he seemed relatively optimistic about the injury, which occurred late in the second quarter of Wednesday’s lopsided loss at Portland (Link to video on Twitter). “Pretty good report overall. This is an oblique stress. It will definitely come out tomorrow” Ott said of Igadaro, who recently signed a three-year, $29 million extension.”We hope it’s more day-to-day than long-term. I think we avoided something serious.” Phoenix is already thin in the center, with Mark Williams months after shoulder surgery. Haman Maluach and Duop Rit are candidates for more playing time in the short term.