The Dallas Mavericks (1-2) have a chance to lock the new-look Miami Heat (0-3) in the freezer on Monday when they travel to take on Giannis Antetokounmpo & Co. at the Kaseya Center. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m.
The Heat have lost three in a row to open the 2026-27 season after nabbing Antetokounmpo in an offseason trade this summer and blowing up their young core to get the deal done. The Heat also brought on Klay Thompson in free agency, and now harbor two former Mavs sharpshooters in Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr.
So, yea, if it sounds like Miami is the NBA’s geriatric unit, that might be why. They made quote-unquote “win now” moves this offseason, but the (very) early returns have yet to yield any actual wins. Meanwhile, the little Mavericks seem to be taking the first few baby steps toward growth, with the NBA’s fifth-youngest roster, guided of course, by sage ball guru Kyrie Irving.
So, let’s go over three points that make Monday’s Mavericks-Heat game appointment television.
Return of the return of Irving and Flagg
Both Irving and Cooper Flagg missed Saturday’s 122-106 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the Mavericks’ home opener. Flagg injured his shoulder when Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith fouled him hard on the way to the rack in transition right before halftime, while the Mavs were on their way to upsetting Indiana, 121-105, the night before.
Irving sat the second night of the back-to-back on “injury management,” which is confusing since Irving’s recovery from the torn ACL he suffered in March 2025 was extended by six months as last season got away from Dallas after the calendar turned. Wasn’t he supposed to be ALL the way back after 18 months of recovery?
Anyway, whatever the case, Irving has been removed from the Mavericks’ injury report as of Sunday night, and Flagg has been upgraded to questionable for the game at the Heat. If Flagg isn’t back on Monday, we suspect he would be back on Wednesday when Dallas plays host to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He took a scary fall on Friday after absorbing the hit from The Coward Nesmith, but it appears the injury associated with the fall is a relatively harmless one. Bullet dodged.
The Heat made big, splashy offseason moves this summer, but trading for Antetokounmpo limited how much they could bring on around him, as he is set to make more than $58 million this year — good for just north of 29% of the Heat’s available salary under the cap. So, while they have some intriguing players deeper on their roster, the bulk of their scoring punch comes from Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo in the frontcourt.
Klay Thompson is a hall-of-famer and a name, sure, but as Mavericks fans know, he doesn’t affect winning at this point in his career like he did during his time with the Golden State Warriors. Point guard Davion Mitchell, in his sixth season out of Baylor, appears poised to take the first big leap of his young career and has jumped out of the gates to the tune of 17 points and 8.7 assists per game through the first three games.
But Miami, as currently constructed, presents a pretty straightforward challenge. Throw all the resources you can at limiting Antetokounmpo from going nuclear, and see if the rest of the roster can beat you. Through three games at least, the Heat have not shown that they can.
The Charlotte Hornets coerced the star forward into foul trouble in Saturday’s 115-110 win over Miami, limiting Antetokounmpo to just 4-of-11 shooting and 14 points in 25 minutes. The Mavericks definitely have the bodies to throw his way at that position as well. The Heat have gotten most of their offensive production going to the basket through three games this year, and that makes sense — that’s a huge part of their star’s game. Staying in front of Antetokounmpo will be essential to stealing one in Miami. Dallas comes into the game as one of just four teams shooting over 50% from the field through three games played, while Miami is shooting just over 42% from the field to start the year, which puts them in the bottom third of the league, for whatever that’s worth.
For better or worse, the Heat are a name brand with easily recognizable star power. Getting a win in their barn would be a nice feather in the Mavericks’ hat in the middle of a brutal six-game stretch to start the season.
One through line for the Mavericks through three games has been the emergence of a couple of intriguing young guards. In the season opener at the Houston Rockets, it was Marcus Sasser, who’s using a return to his old stomping grounds in the Dallas area as a fresh start after getting lost in the shuffle with the Detroit Pistons, who came up big with 17 points off the bench. He has shot a combined 8-of-14 from 3-point range to start the year.
In Saturday’s loss at the Spurs, it was Sergio de Larrea who stood out. His first bucket that night was his first NBA score, and that alone would have made for a landmark moment for any rookie, let alone a young Spanish phenom viewed in NBA circles as more of a project than a first-year contributor. He went on to score a team-high 21 points in the loss on 3-of-4 shooting from deep.
Which of the Mavericks’ young pieces will turn heads at Miami? And the third time around, could it coincide with a win? It’s early, but going 2-2 to start the year would be an encouraging start.