Kyrie Is Back, Flagg Is Questionable, and Giannis Is Winless: Mavs Walk Into Miami Tonight With a Chance to Steal One

By Marcus Delaney, RF Sports Radio Mavericks voice

Mavs Nation, 48 hours ago this felt like a long week. Now it feels like an opportunity. Kyrie Irving is cleared, Cooper Flagg's shoulder looks like a short-term scare, and the team waiting in Miami tonight has not won a game yet.

The facts

Irving is not on the league injury report for tonight's game at the Heat, per WhyNBA, citing Rotoworld and CBS Sports. He sat Saturday's 122-106 loss to San Antonio for left knee injury management on the second night of a back-to-back. That is the knee he had repaired after tearing his ACL in March 2025. When he has played, he has looked like himself: 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting at Houston and 24 points with five threes in the win at Indiana, per WhyNBA.

Flagg has been upgraded to questionable with the mild left shoulder sprain he suffered Friday on Aaron Nesmith's flagrant foul, per USA TODAY and Sports Illustrated. That is fast, since the team originally said he would be reevaluated this week.

The bad news: Naji Marshall, who started at point guard Saturday, is out with an illness, per WhyNBA. Caleb Martin (right thumb) is doubtful and Tarik Biberovic (heel) is out. Sports Illustrated lists Dereck Lively II (foot) and Santi Aldama as out as well.

Miami is 0-3 after a 115-110 loss in Charlotte on Saturday. The Heat traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer and added Klay Thompson, per Mavs Moneyball, so Dallas sees a former Mav in a Heat uniform. Dallas is 1-2 with the NBA's fifth-youngest roster, per Mavs Moneyball.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: if Flagg is not 100 percent, sit him. I mean that. It is October 26, the injury was described as mild, and Oklahoma City comes to town Wednesday. There is no reason to risk a shoulder against Giannis in the paint for one regular-season game.

With Kyrie back, this is a winnable game either way. Saturday's problem was ball handling, and Irving fixes a lot of it by himself. Losing Marshall hurts, but it opens more minutes for Sergio de Larrea, and I want to see if Saturday's 21 points were real.

Miami is an old team trying to figure out how to play around a new star. Dallas should run. Make the Heat chase a young team in transition and see who gets tired first.

My call: Mavs 112, Heat 108, with Irving closing it in the fourth. That is a prediction, not a report.

What to watch next

Flagg's pregame status, who starts at point guard without Marshall, and how Dusty May handles Giannis. Tipoff is 6:30 p.m. Central at Kaseya Center. Dallas then hosts the Thunder on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Central, per WhyNBA. For Saturday's loss to the Spurs, read our Oct. 25 Mavericks column on the loss to the Spurs, and keep up with the Dallas Mavericks page.

Radio question: if Flagg is cleared, do you play him tonight in Miami or save him for the Thunder on Wednesday?

Sources: WhyNBA - Kyrie Irving is off the injury report and set to return in Miami, Naji Marshall out; USA TODAY - Cooper Flagg injury update: Will Mavericks star play Monday vs. Heat?; Sports Illustrated - Cooper Flagg's injury status upgraded ahead of Mavericks-Heat; Mavs Moneyball - Mavericks vs. Heat preview.