Is Cooper Flag playing tonight? Mavericks vs. Jazz injury report

The Dallas Mavericks it can be without beginners Cooper Flagg on Thursday night after citing him as suspicious on the team’s latest injury report ahead of the Utah Jazz matchup.

Dallas (15-26) continues its four-game homestand and closes out the back-to-back against Utah (14-26) at 8:30 PM ET. The Mavericks’ report Thursday afternoon listed a sprained left ankle for Flagg, putting his availability in serious doubt.

The 19-year-old made a brief appearance Wednesday night’s 118–109 loss to the Denver Nuggets before he exited in the second quarter. Flagg finished with six points, one rebound, one assist and one block while shooting 3-for-9 from the field in 15 minutes. The injury occurred when he fell to the floor after being called for a foul while defending Denver wing Peyton Watson.

Cooper Flagg’s injury status looms large over the Mavericks-Jazz matchup

The setback involved the same ankle Flagg had injured two nights earlier against the Brooklyn Nets. In that contest, he left the game briefly to have his ankle taped before returning to produce one of his strongest performances of the season. Flagg led Dallas with 27 points, five rebounds and an assist while shooting 10-for-17 from the field in 35 minutes during the 113–105 victory.

Flagg played a central role in Dallas’ rotation during his rookie campaign, taking on expanded responsibilities on both ends of the floor. Entering Thursday, he is averaging 18.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game while logging heavy minutes and often dealing with late-game situations.

With Flagg listed as questionable, Dallas could be forced to adjust its frontcourt rotation for the second straight night as it looks for consistency during the home game.

Utah arrives in Dallas after a 128-126 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night and is 3-7 in its last 10 games. The Jazz will also be shorthanded, with forward Lauri Markkanen ruled out of Thursday’s contest due to illness.

Final confirmation on Flagg’s status is expected closer to tip-off, as Dallas continues to evaluate his left ankle ahead of the second game of back-to-back games.