Mavericks better hope Cooper Flagg's scary shoulder injury isn't serious

Dallas Mavericks fans' hearts sank near the end of the second quarter during Friday night's game against the Indiana Pacers, as Cooper Flagg took a scary fall that caused him to exit the game with a shoulder injury.

Cooper Flagg injured his shoulder after a hard foul by Aaron Nesmith

Flagg was about to finish a dunk in transition when Aaron Nesmith fouled him from behind, causing Flagg to fall to the floor. He landed on his shoulder, and a scuffle followed between Marshall and Nesmith as Marshall took exception to Nesmith's hard foul that injured the young superstar. Dallas was already up by 33 points before this foul happened, and Nesmith didn't make any contact with the ball. He was given a Flagrant 1.

After draining both free throws, Flagg headed back to the locker room and never returned to the game. The Mavericks' initial injury designation was "left shoulder soreness," but his long-term status is still unclear. Dusty May said that Flagg was "in good spirits" in the locker room and would be evaluated in the next few days during his postgame press conference.

This leaves Flagg's status for tonight's game against the San Antonio Spurs in serious doubt, as that would be an extremely quick turnaround after such a hard fall the night before. The Mavs better hope that this shoulder injury isn't anything serious. This is the same shoulder that gave him problems during his rookie season, and Flagg missing any extended time would put Dallas in a tough position.

Flagg's injury couldn't come at a worse time

The Mavericks' stretch to start the season is already hard enough. They started the year by playing Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets on the road, followed this up with a trip to Indiana to play the Pacers for Tyrese Haliburton's first home game back after tearing his Achilles in the 2025 NBA Finals, and will now play the Spurs, Miami, Oklahoma City, and the Rockets again within the next week.

Dallas was dealt a nightmare stretch to start the year, and having to face off against these teams without the team's franchise cornerstone would be very disappointing. Coop was off to a scorching-hot start to the year before injuring his shoulder last night, and the Mavs are going to be at an extreme disadvantage without Flagg in the lineup.

Their shot creation is already limited enough, and Flagg being out would make this problem even more glaring.

Cooper has been a menace on both ends of the floor for Dallas this season, and he looked like he was in for another big game last night before sitting for the second half. He finished with 14 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals, and one block in just 17 minutes, and he was a +34 in this game.

Flagg was dominating the Pacers in their biggest home game in over a year, and his status moving forward will be a massive storyline. Dallas needs him healthy in order to survive this brutal early stretch and beyond, as he is crucial to their success, and him being out for a long time could put the team in a hole that they'd have a hard time climbing out of.

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