DHJ Quick Take: Shorthanded at Intuit Dome
- The Doubtful Four: The Mavericks will likely be without four vital rotation pieces on Tuesday night. P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, Caleb Martin, and Brandon Williams are all listed as doubtful, significantly depleting Dallas‘ depth for the start of their three-game road trip.
- Frontcourt Void: With Gafford and Washington unlikely to play, and Dereck Lively II out for the season, the Mavericks‘ interior defense faces a massive challenge against Kawhi Leonard and a surging Los Angeles Clippers squad currently fighting for Western Conference seeding.
- The Flagg Factor: Amid the injuries, rookie Cooper Flagg remains the focal point. After scoring 96 points over his last two games, Flagg looks to extend a historic stretch that has seen him surpass LeBron James for the most 40-point games by a teenager in NBA history.
The Dallas Mavericks open a three-game road trip Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome, tip-off set for 9:30 p.m. CT, and they’ll do so significantly shorthanded with four rotation players listed as doubtful on the updated official injury report.
Injury Report Breakdown
Daniel Gafford (right shoulder impingement), Caleb Martin (right plantar fascia strain), P.J. Washington (left elbow soreness) and Brandon Williams (illness) are all listed as doubtful for Tuesday’s game.
The potential absence of Washington is the most notable update from the previous report. The forward has been one of Dallas’ most reliable contributors this season, averaging 14.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists across 56 games. His versatility on both ends has been central to the Mavericks’ lineups throughout the year.
Gafford’s absence would also loom large. The center is averaging 9.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 65.5% from the field across 55 appearances — one of the most efficient big men in the league at his position. Martin, averaging 3.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in 58 games, has now missed six straight with the plantar fascia issue. Williams had been one of the team’s more consistent contributors off the bench, averaging 13.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 66 appearances.
Marvin Bagley III (left shoulder impingement) has been upgraded to probable after averaging 10.2 points and 6.1 rebounds in 57 games. Two-way center Moussa Cissé (G League — two-way) has been downgraded to questionable.
Kyrie Irving (left knee surgery) and Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery) remain out for the season. Irving has not played in a single game in 2025-26, while Lively appeared in just seven games before his foot surgery ended his year in December.
G League two-way players John Poulakidas and Tyler Smith are both listed as probable.
Cooper Flagg Carries the Load
The Mavericks (25-53) enter Tuesday’s road opener off a 134-128 overtime win Sunday against the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers, with rookie Cooper Flagg continuing to put together one of the more remarkable late-season stretches in recent memory. Flagg scored 45 points against the Lakers — going 14-of-27 from the floor with 15-of-17 from the free throw line — one game after his career-high 51-point outburst against the Orlando Magic. He is a combined 33-of-57 (57.9%) from the floor over those two games, including 8-of-13 (61.5%) from 3-point range.
The back-to-back 45-point games make Flagg just the third rookie in NBA history to record consecutive games with at least 45 points, joining Walt Bellamy and Wilt Chamberlain. He also tied Chamberlain for the fifth-most points across a two-game span by a rookie in league history with 96, with Chamberlain owning the top four spots on the list. His fourth 40-point game of the season gives him more such games as a teenager than anyone in NBA history, surpassing LeBron James.
Flagg has taken 27 shot attempts in a game five times this season, two coming in the past two contests. The 19-year-old is averaging 21.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists across 66 starts. His late-season surge has injected renewed uncertainty into the NBA Rookie of the Year race, where Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel had appeared to be the frontrunner. The two are former Duke teammates and close friends.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd reflected on the generational juxtaposition on display Sunday, when 41-year-old LeBron James scored 30 points in a losing effort.
“The future is extremely bright when you talk about the league,” Kidd said. “Before we put LeBron to rest, he is showing the world at the age of 41, he can still play the game at a high level. … When you talk about the youth, Cooper is part of that group so it’s exciting to see. The NBA is in good hands as we go forward.”
Los Angeles Clippers Playing With Urgency
Los Angeles enters Tuesday’s game tied with the Portland Trail Blazers for eighth place in the Western Conference, though the Clippers hold the tiebreaker advantage. With a potential seeding-deciding matchup against Portland on Friday looming, the Clippers are using this week to sharpen up.
They looked the part Sunday, routing the Sacramento Kings, 138-109, behind 26 points from Kawhi Leonard — his 54th consecutive game with at least 20 — and 25 from John Collins off the bench. Head coach Tyronn Lue has adjusted to a smaller lineup in recent weeks, and those adjustments paid dividends against Sacramento.
“Right now, I’m trying to bring a good energy and a good vibe, a sense of understanding and making sure every single (teammate) is enjoying the moment and not getting too down on themselves,” Leonard said after the win. “Just bringing that killer mentality to work, making sure that everybody is stepping up.”
Leonard, who averages 19.4 shot attempts per game — eighth in the NBA — figures to be a key matchup test for a Mavericks defense already dealing with significant frontcourt limitations. Darius Garland torched Dallas for 41 points in the teams’ most recent meeting, a 138-131 Clippers overtime win at American Airlines Center on March 21. Dallas is 1-2 in the season series.
Watch List Beyond Cooper Flagg
Klay Thompson, operating in a bench role this season, has recorded 183 3-pointers off the bench — second-most in the NBA — and enters Tuesday needing just 12 points to move into 100th place on the league’s all-time scoring list.
With Washington now doubtful, Naji Marshall — averaging a career-high 15.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 73 games — figures to take on an even larger role in the Dallas frontcourt on Tuesday night.
Up Next
The Mavericks continue their three-game road trip Wednesday at the Phoenix Suns before closing out at the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.
More Dallas Mavericks Coverage Before Facing the Los Angeles Clippers
- ‘A Dream Come True’: Cooper Flagg Makes NBA History Again As Dallas Mavericks End 14-Game Home Skid With 134-128 Win Over Los Angeles Lakers
- ‘That’s What Paul Silas Did For Me’: LeBron James Draws Parallel Between His Rookie Role And Cooper Flagg’s
- ‘He Will Be Unstoppable’: Cooper Flagg’s Three-Point Statement Gives Blueprint For NBA Dominance
- ‘They’re Very Similar’: Jason Kidd Breaks Down The LeBron James Parallels For Cooper Flagg
- ‘He’s In Rare Air’: Cooper Flagg Scores 51 Points In Historic Performance, But Dallas Mavericks Fall To Orlando Magic
- ‘He’s Given Me That Confidence’: Cooper Flagg Credits Jason Kidd For Playmaking Evolution
- ‘I’ve Learned A Lot’: Khris Middleton Is Helping Cooper Flagg Grow As A Professional Scorer
