Dallas, TX
3 Overreactions as Cooper Flagg Shines Once Again, But Mavericks Fall to Rockets
The Dallas Mavericks entered Saturday night riding a three-game losing streak, and they were facing their in-state rival, the Houston Rockets, for the final time this season already. Houston has been one of the better teams in the West despite injuries and a strange lineup.
The first quarter was mostly back and forth, as most NBA games are, seeing 7 lead changes and three ties. But it also started extremely ugly. Brandon Williams was eventually electric off the bench for the Mavs, scoring 13 points in the first quarter, but he’d get hurt in the second quarter before being ruled out for the game.
Houston started to take control in the second quarter, but especially Jabari Smith Jr. Daniel Gafford had a big quarter for the Mavs, which was a good sign to see given how iffy this season has been for him. Maybe that’ll convince a team to trade a first-round pick for him at the deadline this year.
The Rockets led 59-51 at halftime, and it looked like they were going to run away with the game in the third quarter, pushing the lead to as large as 13 a few times. But as the Mavericks have done all year, they refused to die. After the second time that the Rockets went up by 13, the Mavericks outscored Houston 13-5 with some impressive buckets from Cooper Flagg, helping to shrink the gap to just 5 at the end of the quarter.
Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard tried to put the game away, immediately pushing the lead up to 11, but Klay Thompson and Cooper Flagg had answers for that. The Mavericks refused to die, getting the lead down to 2 with a dunk from Daniel Gafford in the final three minutes.
Naji Marshall tied the game with a layup with about 47 seconds to go, which helped complete a wild comeback. However, Alperen Sengun retook the lead on the next sequence, Cooper Flagg missed a tough layup, and Tari Eason got free for a dunk to put the game away. Houston would go on to win 111-107.
Here are three overreactions from this loss.
READ MORE: Knicks Preparing Underwhelming Trade Package for Coveted Dallas Mavericks Wing
1. Trade Every Veteran in Cooper Flagg’s Way
Cooper Flagg was already a really good rookie. And he’s somehow only getting better. He followed up his incredible 49-point performance last game with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists on 13/25 shooting. He nearly tripled Kevin Durant’s scoring output. At this point, just let him take every single shot so he can continue putting up historic numbers. If someone wants Naji Marshall? Talk them into a first-round pick for him. Anybody want Anthony Davis? Please, take him. Trade any veteran who is not letting Flagg shine the way he should be.
2. Basketball Gods Should Rewards Ethically Tanking Again
The Mavericks are now 11 games under .500 with 33 games remaining. It’s not worth trying to fight into the Play-In Tournament, but they’re still in nearly every game. They fight as hard as any team, and hopefully, that lands them another top pick in the draft lottery. Mavericks fans maybe shouldn’t be asking for too much after already getting lucky once with Cooper Flagg, but considering how screwed over they were by Nico Harrison, another top pick wouldn’t be so bad.
3. There Will Be Conversations About P.J. Washington This Offseason
P.J. Washington is a good basketball player. He does not fit this roster. Granted, a lot of this roster doesn’t fit together, but he just doesn’t fit alongside Cooper Flagg. Too many of their skillsets overlap, and Flagg is better at nearly all of them and will only get better. Washington can’t be traded until the offseason because of when he signed his contract, but there will be conversations this offseason.
READ MORE: Why Mavericks’ Biggest Trade Deadline Need Might Not Be What Fans Expect
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Morton started 15 games in 1972 for an injured Staubach, who eventually returned in the playoffs. The Cowboys decided to trade Morton in 1974 to the Giants, who sent back a first-round pick, which turned out to be the No. 2 overall pick in 1975. The Cowboys used that selection to take Randy White, a 10-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer.
Ironically enough, White’s best game was likely Super Bowl XII, when he was named Co-MVP with Harvey Martin. The Cowboys’ Doomsday defense dominated the Broncos, who were quarterbacked by Morton.
Overall, Morton played for the Cowboys, Giants and Broncos before officially retiring at the end of the 1982 season.
His career ended with 27,908 passing yards, ranking him 71st in NFL history, just ahead of Hall of Famer Joe Namath (27,663).
With the official NFL schedule coming this week, the Dallas Cowboys have revealed when, where and against who their Week 1 contest will be.
The Cowboys announced that they will square off against the New York Giants on the road in Week 1, with the game set for Sunday, Sept. 13, at 7:20 p.m. CT. So, it’s prime time for the Cowboys to start the season.
This is the second game we know about for the Cowboys this year. Of course, we know they will be playing on Thanksgiving, also.
The official schedule will drop on May 14, the NFL announced last week. Schedules for all 32 teams will be revealed on ESPN and the NFL Network, but each team will unveil its own schedule on social media, also.
The Cowboys were always likely to play a road game in Week 1 because of an Usher and Chris Brown concert taking place at AT&T Stadium that week.
Dallas will also be impacted by an Ed Sheeran concert in Week 7, so that’s another potential road game. They could also play on Monday or Thursday that week, or have a bye.
Cowboys’ strength of schedule
According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Cowboys are not going to have an easy road to make the postseason.
The Cowboys have the fourth-toughest schedule in the NFL going into the 2026 season, with only the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers having tougher slates.
Dallas’ schedule is also the third-toughest in the NFC, and the most difficult in the NFC East.
Sharp does his strength of schedule rankings based on win totals from Vegas oddsmakers rather than utilizing the previous season’s records because that metric doesn’t factor in offseason changes.
The Cowboys will play home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.
On the road, Dallas will square off against the Giants, Eagles, Commanders, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.
Of those opponents, seven of them made the postseason in 2025, a list that includes the Jaguars, 49ers, Eagles, Texans, Rams, Seahawks and Packers.
All of those teams should be as good in 2026, and teams like the Colts, Titans, Ravens, Bucs, Giants and Commanders have a very real chance to be improved as well.
It won’t be an easy road for Dallas to get back to the playoffs in 2026, but there’s at least hope following a defensive overhaul.
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