The Dallas Mavericks (0-1) opened the 2026-27 season against the in-state rival Houston Rockets
(1-0) on Wednesday night, falling 128-110 at the Toyota Center
after one of the worst second quarters you will ever see. The long-awaited return of Kyrie Irving only halfway materialized, as the veteran guard logged just 24 minutes in his first game back from a torn ACL he suffered in March 2025. But for those 24 minutes, Mavs fans got their first look at the dynamic duo of Irving and Cooper Flagg.
Head coach Dusty May made plenty of lineup switches in the early going. In fact, 10 players logged over five minutes each, well before halftime rolled around. The starting five fared well in the opening minutes, but the sample size was small and you have to wonder if the frequency of substitutions didn't contribute heavily to the lack of rhythm thereafter. It didn't help that the Rockets are a much more well-rounded team and Dallas is still finding its way. About 20 minutes into the game, this one was over.
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Let's get to the grades!
Kyrie Irving: A-
15 PTS / 4 REB / 2 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 24 MIN
Yes, this grade is intentionally generous. Irving's numbers didn't jump off the box score, but this is a guy who hasn't played in nearly 600 days(!) and who, in limited minutes, arguably played harder than any other Maverick. He drove, he shot (very well; 6-of-9 overall), he absorbed contact and got to the line, he played defense and he even got in amongst the trees for a few rebounds. Certainly not the best game in his Hall-of-Fame career, but against the backdrop of a return from injury, this was nothing short of amazing and a nice welcome back from a very long layoff.
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Max Christie: C-
5 PTS / 3 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 29 MIN
Christie is likely to face some slightly harsher grades from me on nights where he camps out at the 3-point line almost exclusively. He's a great shooter from deep (not tonight; 1-of-7) and needs to be hoisting from beyond the arc, but he's got to mix it up a bit. Worse than not driving, the one time he did, he made an ill-advised pass underneath to Daniel Gafford rather than taking an open mid-range or finishing at the rim.
Cooper Flagg: A
32 PTS / 5 REB / 2 AST / 3 STL / 1 BLK – 33 MIN
This was a funny game for Flagg. He didn't shoot well at first, but then jumped his shooting percentage to over 50% at the end of the third quarter (10-of-17 overall for the game). He scored 23 of his game-high 32 points in the second half. Turnovers and fouls were the primary blemishes (four each), but otherwise he picked up where he left off last season, playing beyond his years and putting up a really impressive opening game.
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P.J. Washington: C+
10 PTS / 4 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 31 MIN
Washington started hot, played well overall, but ultimately disappeared — not in the sense that he was on the court and did nothing, but rather that he literally didn't play much late in the game. Overall, he was just fine, but his four turnovers really hurt his grade, and he didn't leave a meaningful mark on the game.
Daniel Gafford: D
2 PTS / 3 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 2 BLK – 22 MIN
Gafford looked sluggish, as though he was just plodding around somewhat aimlessly. The Mavs got shredded at the rim and rebounded poorly for stretches of the game whether Gafford was sitting or playing. As the only real center on the team, the Mavs needed more from him than logging as many fouls as rebounds (three) before checking out in the first half. Then he added another foul in the second half without another rebound. The starting center had more fouls than rebounds for the game.
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Morez Johnson, Jr.: N/A
6 PTS / 3 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 14 MIN
Johnson is not grade-eligible yet simply because there is no real sample size to draw from, but we wanted to include the rookie for his first NBA game. Johnson delivered what you could reasonably expect for a rookie coming off the bench with limited minutes. He shot well enough (3-of-5), grabbed a couple of boards, took care of the ball, and fouled like it was his last chance to ever do it. Did he look like a rookie? Yes. Did he show promise? Also yes. Reasonably solid game for his first true outing.
Marcus Sasser: A
17 PTS / 1 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 23 MIN
Sasser was nothing short of awesome. If he can play like this every night, the Mavs will have gotten a steal for sure. He didn't pepper every category of the box score, but he microwave scored and looked very comfortable with the ball and running the offense a bit. He made the most of his time and impressed relative to what was likely limited expectations. He was 6-of-8 overall, including 4-of-5 from deep.
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Final Thoughts
The Mavericks' performance in the second quarter will hopefully be the worst quarter they play for many years to come. No hyperbole — it's very difficult to imagine they could play that badly again anytime soon. This is a new team, experimenting with lineups, on the road against a much more established opponent. There are 81 games yet to come, so flush this one, chalk it up to an ongoing feeling out process and move on. Irving is back, rookies are getting some burn, and a tighter rotation will be established as time goes on.
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