On Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks will open the 2026-27 NBA season on the road against the Houston Rockets.
It’s a Texas-sized showdown between two of the state’s top teams at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Cooper Flagg begins his second season fresh off winning Rookie of the Year, with Kyrie Irving set to make his return from a knee injury.
On the other hand, the Rockets get Fred VanVleet back to man the point, giving Amen Thompson and Kevin Durant more leeway on offense.
Dallas Mavericks Injury Report vs. Rockets
The Dallas Mavericks have five players listed on their injury report. They have already ruled out four players against the Houston Rockets, while one player has been tagged as questionable.
Santi Aldama, Tarik Biberovic, Dereck Lively II and Caleb Martin are all set to miss the season opener, while Jett Howard could get upgraded to available or downgraded to out before the start of Wednesday’s game.
Aldama is still recovering from offseason right knee surgery, and there’s no timeline for his return.
On the other hand, Biberovic is dealing with bursitis in his right heel. He was initially listed as doubtful before being downgraded to out.
Lively, who had right foot surgery in December, continues to be without a return timeline. He didn’t sign a rookie-scale contract extension this offseason, so he’ll be a restricted free agent next summer.
Martin has a sprained right thumb, which is a new injury, since he played three preseason games.
Mavericks vs. Rockets Preview
The Dallas Mavericks are officially in a new era since they have a new front office and head coach. Masai Ujiri is focused on surrounding Cooper Flagg with the right roster, while Dusty May is tasked with replicating his success from Michigan to Dallas.
Flagg is expected to continue his ascent to stardom, with Kyrie Irving by his side. Zaccharie Risacher gets a fresh start, while PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford provide their usual reliability.
The Mavericks face a healthy Houston Rockets team headed by Kevin Durant, who can now focus on scoring rather than playmaking with a healthy Fred VanVleet back.
The same goes for Amen Thompson, who has a chip on his shoulder after signing a massive extension. It will be interesting to see if more plays go through Alperen Sengun, who is coming off his second straight All-Star campaign.
The Mavericks vs. Rockets game is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. tip-off.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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