Dallas’ best hope against the winless Heat may come from the same place its latest loss did: the bench.
Even in a 122-106 home opener defeat to San Antonio on Saturday, the Mavericks got two bright spots they can hang onto heading into Monday. Sergio de Larrea poured in 21 points in 33 minutes off the bench, and Marcus Sasser added another steady scoring punch as Dallas tried to keep pace without several key pieces.
De Larrea shot 9-of-15 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range while also grabbing five rebounds and handing out four assists. Sasser followed with 12 points and five assists on 5-of-9 shooting, including two makes from deep. The two kept finding each other in the second half, and Sasser once again looked like the kind of fit Dallas wanted when it brought him in from Detroit - a guard who can hit shots and keep the offense moving without overreaching.
That kind of production has taken on extra importance because Dallas’ frontcourt is stretched thin. Cooper Flagg sprained his left shoulder in Friday’s win at Indiana and is now questionable for Monday. Santi Aldama, Dereck Lively II, Tarik Biberović and Caleb Martin have still not made their season debuts, and Naji Marshall is out with an illness.
So the burden falls heavily on Daniel Gafford and Washington against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Gafford at least gave Dallas something to work with Saturday, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Antetokounmpo is going to get his, but the Mavericks have enough size to make the matchup a fight instead of a free run to the rim.
The more favorable opening for Dallas is on the perimeter, where Miami has struggled badly through three games. The Heat are 0-3, and outside of Antetokounmpo’s big nights - 35 points in one game and 36 in another - the offense has offered very little. Davion Mitchell has been the lone consistent bright spot besides him, averaging 17.0 points while shooting 46.7% from 3-point range.
Everyone else has been ice-cold. Andrew Wiggins is shooting 18.2% from deep, Tim Hardaway Jr. is at 17.6%, Adebayo is at 23.1%, and Antetokounmpo himself is hitting just 16.7% from beyond the arc. Beyond those three, no Miami player is averaging more than 10.3 points per game.
That sets up a game where Dallas’ depth and shot-making could matter just as much as the star names on the floor.
In Other News...
Cooper Flaggs Status Suddenly Looms Large For Mavericks Vs Heat
Cooper Flaggs availability is suddenly a major subplot for the Mavericks as they get set to face the Heat, with the rookie listed as questionable because of a mild left shoulder sprain. Dallas has already ruled him out once since the injury, and the team said he will be re-evaluated this week, leaving his status unsettled as the game approaches.
The issue started in the matchup with Indiana, when Flagg took a hard foul and did not return, and it has quickly turned into one of the more important health questions on the roster. The Mavericks have been in contact with the public about his status, but for now the focus is simply on whether he can make it back in time for Miami or whether the team will have to wait a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Just Took Another Fascinating Flier On Former Lottery Talent
Jeremy Sochan is getting another chance to reset his career path, this time through the Mavericks' developmental pipeline. The Texas Legends used their top pick in the 2026 NBA G League Draft on the former lottery talent, giving Dallas a low-cost look at a player who once arrived in the league with real promise and even earned All-Rookie Second Team honors.
For the Mavericks, the appeal is obvious: there is little downside in bringing in a young, proven prospect and seeing whether a fresh environment can unlock more of his game. Sochan was most recently with the Portland Trail Blazers, and now the focus shifts to what he can do with the Legends as Dallas continues searching for usable NBA help wherever it can find it. [Read more 🡒]
Mavs New Arena Push Is Turning Into A Bigger Dallas Fight
The Mavericks push for a new arena in North Dallas has grown into more than a basketball discussion, becoming a broader civic conversation about what kind of development should define that part of the city. Team officials are pitching a multi-billion dollar project that would go well beyond game nights, with the goal of making it a long-term community asset centered on basketball and related activities.
For Dallas fans, the timing matters because the current setup at American Airlines Center still has years left before the teams lease runs out, and the new building is being framed as the next chapter rather than an immediate move. Even so, the project has drawn extra attention because of the ownership change and the speculation that followed, leaving the arena plan to carry a bigger public burden than most stadium proposals. [Read more 🡒]