The Dallas Mavericks have upgraded star rookie Cooper Flagg to questionable ahead of Monday's visit to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The Dallas Mavericks have won back-to-back games against the lowly Utah Jazz recently, but they've both come without Cooper Flagg, who sprained his left ankle in Dallas' last loss on Jan. 14 to the Denver Nuggets.
Ahead of an MLK Day visit to "The Mecca" on Monday, however, the Mavs have seemingly gotten good news when it comes to the rookie's health.
In Sunday's injury report, Flagg has been upgraded to questionable ahead of what would be his debut in the world's most famous basketball venue, Madison Square Garden, to play the New York Knicks.
As you see, it's a loaded injury report for the Mavericks, who remain without All-Stars Anthony Davis (hand) and Kyrie Irving (knee) for the foreseeable future.
One silver lining amid this typically-frustrating season is Flagg's ability to rehab his first major injury scare. He will have had four full days of rest before the trip to New York, with Dallas still finding ways to win in the process.
If Flagg can make a return, he'll do so joining a supporting cast that did more than enough to cover the slack in his absence. Dallas beat Utah by 20 and 18 points in each of the last two games thanks to a collection of impressive performances.
Klay Thompson headlined the bunch with 49 points over his last two outings. He made history in the process, reaching No. 4 on the all-time three-pointers made list on Thursday and eclipsing 17,000 career points on Saturday.
Role players Naji Marshall, Max Christie and Brandon Williams also paced a Mavs roster that remains in flux just weeks away from the NBA trade deadline, proving that maybe this roster is just good enough to ride out the absences of Davis and Irving, likely for the season, and go all-in next year.
Typical starters PJ Washington (personal) and Daniel Gafford (right ankle) will be out against the Knicks, but New York is also facing uncertainty in health.
Former Mav and All-Star guard Jalen Brunson is listed as questionable, along with Josh Hart, as both are dealing with ankle sprains. If Brunson sits on Monday, it will be three games that he's missed with the injury.
Dallas will no doubt benefit from a potential return by Flagg, but it remains an uphill battle to make up ground in the Western Conference. The Mavericks sit at 12th in the conference standings with a 17-26 record and 4-14 mark away from American Airlines Center.
On the other side, New York is third in the East at 25-17 with a stout 16-5 mark at MSG. However, the Knicks are looking to snap a three-game losing streak to the Kings, Warriors and Suns (at home) over the past week.
New York hosts Dallas in the national spotlight with the Monday matinee tipping off at 4 p.m. CST on NBC and Peacock.
