Dress Rehearsal Night: Cisse's Tweaked Ankle, a Thin Frontcourt, and Atlanta at AAC Before the Real Season Starts

By Marcus Delaney, RF Sports Radio Mavericks voice

Mavs Nation, the last exhibition is tonight, and the only number that really matters is who walks out healthy. Atlanta is the dress rehearsal Dusty May already named. Cisse's ankle is the subplot that could mess with the script.

The facts

The Dallas Mavericks host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. Central at American Airlines Center in the final preseason game, per the Mavericks' game page. Tip is listed for MavsTV+ and SiriusXM. The regular season opens Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Houston at 7:30 p.m. Central.

Center Moussa Cisse tweaked his left ankle in Wednesday's 101-97 loss to the Pelicans after posting eight points, six rebounds and three blocks in 16:29. He did not practice Thursday. Coach Dusty May called it a slightly tweaked ankle and said Cisse would have been able to play if Dallas had a game Thursday, but the staff will not risk further injury in an exhibition, per Dallas Sports Journal. Status for Friday remained uncertain pending swelling checks.

The frontcourt is already thin. Daniel Gafford sat Wednesday with a right shoulder stinger. Dereck Lively II has not played since Nov. 21, 2025, after foot surgeries. Morez Johnson Jr. missed Wednesday with shin splints; May said Thursday he is really close. Dwight Powell did not play Wednesday by coach's decision. After Cisse exited, rookie Tobi Lawal and Jorge Diaz-Graham took the center minutes. Atlanta enters 3-1 in the preseason, per NBA.com Hawks game notes.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: May is doing this the right way. A slightly tweaked ankle in October is not worth a two-week problem in November. If Cisse sits tonight, that is not panic. That is adult roster management on a two-way-turned-matched contract that suddenly matters because Lively is still rehabbing and Gafford is nursing a stinger.

What I want from the dress rehearsal is minutes and roles, not a final score. Flagg and Irving should look like they belong in October. The backup-center minutes tell you whether Dallas is comfortable with Lawal and Diaz-Graham as emergency depth or whether Friday night becomes a quiet audition for someone else. De Larrea's 30-minute audition Wednesday already bought him trust. Tonight is about whether the starters' chemistry shows up when the Hawks play with pride in the last exhibition.

My call: Cisse is held out or limited as a precaution, the starters play a real first half, and Dallas wins a competitive dress rehearsal. That is a prediction, not a report. If Gafford and Johnson are both available and Cisse sits, file that as the opening-night depth chart hint.

What to watch next

Watch tonight's availability list for Cisse, Gafford and Johnson, the starters' minute splits, and who closes the second unit. Opener is Oct. 21 in Houston. Catch up on yesterday's Mavericks post on the Pelicans loss and Cisse's ankle, and keep up on the Dallas Mavericks page.

Radio question: are you watching Friday night for scoreboard validation, or only for who is healthy and how the center minutes break?

Sources: Dallas Sports Journal — Cisse misses practice before preseason finale; Mavericks.com — Hawks vs Mavericks Oct. 16 game details; NBA.com — Atlanta Hawks game notes PDF.