{"id":650863,"date":"2026-03-10T13:11:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:11:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/650863\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T13:11:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:11:05","slug":"cooper-flagg-marvin-bagley-iii-cleared-to-play-vs-raptors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/650863\/","title":{"rendered":"Cooper Flagg, Marvin Bagley III Cleared To Play vs. Raptors"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Mavericks will have Cooper Flagg<\/a> available Sunday against the Toronto Raptors after the rookie was upgraded from questionable to active ahead of tipoff, the team confirmed.<\/p>\n

Flagg, Dwight Powell<\/a>, and Marvin Bagley III<\/a> have all been cleared to play after each carried a questionable or probable designation into the day. Flagg had been listed as questionable with left midfoot injury management. Powell was listed as probable with right calf tightness. Bagley was questionable after missing five consecutive games with a head sprain sustained Feb. 26 against Sacramento.<\/p>\n

Dallas Mavericks Clear Cooper Flagg With Restriction<\/p>\n

Flagg\u2019s availability is the most significant development for a Dallas team that has dropped six straight games and is 21-42 on the season. Before heading to the podium for his pregame availability, Jason Kidd<\/a> watched Flagg\u2019s full pregame workout alongside assistant coach Mike Penberthy<\/a>, then stopped for a courtside conversation with Flagg\u2019s longtime personal trainer, Matt McKenzie. <\/p>\n

The Mavericks\u2019 director of health and performance was seated on the bench throughout the workout. Flagg slipped on the same foot during Friday\u2019s 120-100 loss in Boston<\/a>, requiring a sideline evaluation before returning in the second quarter.<\/p>\n

Kidd confirmed Flagg will play on a minutes restriction Sunday, with the priority on quality of minutes rather than volume.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s on restrictions, so it\u2019s about getting as many positive minutes as we can,\u201d Kidd said.<\/p>\n

Flagg leads the Mavericks with averages of 20.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game and is the team\u2019s leader in steals at 1.2 per contest. He has shot 14-for-45 over his two games back from the eight-game absence but has remained productive in other areas, finishing with 18 points, six assists, and four blocks Thursday in Orlando and 16 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in Boston. <\/p>\n

Kidd compared Flagg favorably to players he has coached at similar stages of their careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look at Cooper, at the age of 18 \u2014 turning 19 \u2014 just his maturity, the way he plays the game, and how much he loves competition,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cHe understands what he has to do, and as a 19-year-old, he\u2019s doing it at the highest level. When you mention him with LeBron and MJ in their first season, it\u2019s just amazing what he\u2019s doing, and he continues to get better each day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marvin Bagley III Returns From Five-Game Absence<\/p>\n

Bagley\u2019s return gives Dallas a frontcourt option it has been without since late February. In seven games with the Mavericks this season, he has averaged 13.0 points on 61.3% shooting with 8.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 23.9 minutes. His most recent appearance came Feb. 26 against Sacramento, where he posted 10 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes before leaving with a neck sprain.<\/p>\n

Powell, who has averaged 3.9 points in 16.6 minutes this season, adds depth to a frontcourt that has leaned heavily on Daniel Gafford<\/a> and absorbed meaningful minutes from Moussa Cisse<\/a> over the losing streak.<\/p>\n

Kidd pointed to the roster\u2019s improving health as the foundation for what he hopes to build over the final stretch of the road trip.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think being healthy is a good thing. We haven\u2019t been healthy,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cSo to be able to be healthy \u2014 and hopefully come out of this healthy \u2014 so that we can go to Atlanta and keep learning each other. We have an opportunity with guys getting back into the fold, seeing different combinations, and getting Cooper minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dallas Mavericks vs. Toronto Raptors Scouting<\/p>\n

Toronto presents a specific challenge on Sunday. The Raptors lead the league with 18.8 fast break points per game, and Kidd identified transition defense and ball security as the two areas Dallas must prioritize. Dallas has allowed 119.6 points per game over its last 10 games, going 2-8 in that stretch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re athletic, they\u2019re young, and they\u2019re going to run,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cFor us, it\u2019s about taking care of the ball and getting back on defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kidd also framed Sunday as another step in the group\u2019s development, with chemistry still being built among newer additions.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunication, time, going through the good and the bad,\u201d he said. \u201cJust learning from situations \u2014 learning from Orlando, learning from Boston. And we have another opportunity here this evening to learn from the good and the bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dallas Mavericks Full Injury Report vs. Toronto Raptors<\/p>\n

Moussa Ciss\u00e9<\/a>, John Poulakidas<\/a>, and Tyler Smith<\/a> manage eligibility for two-way contract players. Kyrie Irving<\/a> remains out for the season following left knee surgery, and Dereck Lively II<\/a> is out for the season following right foot surgery.<\/p>\n

Tip-off at Scotiabank Arena is set for 5 p.m. CST.<\/p>\n

Latest Dallas Mavericks News & NBA Rumors<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Mavericks will have Cooper Flagg available Sunday against the Toronto Raptors after the rookie was upgraded…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":650864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3793],"tags":[7,225,84173,30898,686,149,4057,1264,5991,3716,967,6338,166,48335,83866,6,8889,3101],"class_list":["post-650863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas-mavericks","tag-basketball","tag-cooper-flagg","tag-cooper-flagg-cleared","tag-cooper-flagg-injury","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-mavericks","tag-dallasmavericks","tag-dereck-lively-ii","tag-dwight-powell","tag-jason-kidd","tag-kyrie-irving","tag-marvin-bagley-iii","tag-mavericks","tag-mavericks-injury-report","tag-mavericks-vs-raptors","tag-nba","tag-nba-injury-report","tag-nba-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}