Some might've been billing the Mavericks and Lakers contest Thursday night as "watchable," but that has become less the case after two major injury updates to two of the game's biggest draws.
When the Dallas Mavericks play against Luka Doncic's Los Angeles Lakers, it will always draw a national TV spotlight, but the teams' matchup on Thursday night at crypto.com Arena, a nightcap broadcast streaming on Prime Video, won't have the same luster it typically does.
Doncic has been ruled out with a left hamstring strain, now missing his fourth consecutive game. His participation in the All-Star Game in LA, in which he has been voted as a starter by leading all NBA players in fan tallies, is in question.
Lakers insider and ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin says Doncic's rehab is progressing on schedule and that he hopes he can participate in Sunday night's marquee event closing NBA All-Star weekend.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks will also be without their best player.
No. 1 overall pick rookie Cooper Flagg has undergone an MRI that has revealed a left midfoot sprain. He will not play against the Lakers and has been ruled out for the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars showcase on Friday.
Dallas enters having lost their last eight games and burrowing near the bottom of the West standings. Los Angeles, 32-21 on the year, is fifth in the conference.
Doncic continues to lead the league in scoring at 32.8 points per game. He scored 33 in his most recent meeting with his former team on Jan. 24, a 116-110 Lakers win at American Airlines Center.
Since that game, the Mavs have fully transitioned the roster emphasis on 19-year-old phenom Flagg by trading Anthony Davis, the headlining return in the infamous swap for Doncic, on Feb. 4.
Flagg has starred since Davis' trade, but scored just 14 points in the Mavs' last game, a failed comeback attempt against the Phoenix Suns in the desert on Tuesday - a game that marked the Mavericks' eighth straight loss.
Dallas will lean on role player Naji Marshall improving on his career-best season and building on a 31-point performance against the Suns.
The shorthanded Lakers (32-21, fifth in West) host the even-more-shorthanded Mavs (19-34, 12th in West) at 9 p.m. CST in Los Angeles on Thursday.