The last time they played, the 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic offered a heap of praise for the 19-year-old rookie Cooper Flagg.
The Dallas Mavericks begin a stretch of nine home games out of their next 12 by hosting the Denver Nuggets and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who if it weren't for him missing so much time this season, would be on pace to add to his hardware collection by averaging a triple double.
However, Jokic and his 29 points, 12.2 rebounds and 11 assists per-game marks will be out for Wednesday's contest, which is a great favor for Dallas as the Serbian center leads the Nuggets in each of those major stats.
Despite his absence, Denver has been clicking on the road as they travel to Dallas on a three-game winning streak away from the Mile High City. Those include narrow victories over Toronto and Boston last week and a 122-116 win over New Orleans last time out on Tuesday.
For the Mavs, they're looking to keep up a streak, as well, having won seven of their last eight home games since Dec. 1, which is one of the best home clips in the entire NBA.
The Nuggets still hold third-place positioning in the Western Conference with a 27-13 record, but the Mavs have gotten the better of them twice already this season: a 131-121 final in Denver on Dec. 1 and a thrilling one-point finish in Dallas two days before Christmas.
Dallas is the only team to beat Denver more than once this season.
That latter matchup saw Jokic offer heaps of praise to Mavs rookie Cooper Flagg as the No. 1 pick poured in 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. At the time, it was the closest the 19-year-old has been from recording his first NBA triple-double.
It's a feat Jokic is all too familiar with, but nonetheless respects.
"He was definitely a hot hand out there," said Jokic, who ended that game with 29 points and 14 assists.
"I'm going to say the poise that he played with, he doesn't feel like he's so young out there. He seems like he played meaningful games and he was winning before. That's my opinion. He looked really mature out there."
While Flagg has battled through a tumultuous schedule, he has been candid about this being his first season with this much losing. Granted, it's also the longest stretch of games he's ever experienced, which takes a toll physically and mentally.
The Mavericks remain 10 games under .500 at 15-25 and in the midst of turmoil with star forward Anthony Davis at the center of controversy this week. The ligament damage in his hand sustained last week has yielded conflicting reports on whether surgery is necessary.
Late Tuesday, the Mavericks organization announced that Davis had met for a second opinion on the diagnosis, which determined that surgery was not needed, building optimism that he can return in March.
Davis will be reevaluated no sooner than six weeks from now.
The 10-time All-Star has played just 25 percent of Dallas' games (29 of 115) since his infamous trade from the Los Angeles Lakers last February that included All-NBA point guard Luka Doncic, who is just behind Jokic and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in MVP consideration this season.
The Mavs host the Nuggets without Davis' prowess on the inside. He posted 31 points and nine rebounds as Flagg's co-star in that last meeting with Denver, offering a sarcastic joke postgame about the rookie's stat line.
"Oooh! He's not good enough to get a triple-double, I guess," Davis laughed. "He's not there yet ... But that's a hell of a stat line, especially with a win."
Flagg will be the center of attention as he aims to duplicate that performance - and final-score outcome - with Davis and Jokic looking on from their respective benches.
The game will broadcast live on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. CST.
