Cooper Flagg, who has been out since Fe. 12 with a left midfoot sprain, will return to the Mavericks lineup Thursday night against Orlando, a story first reported by Marc Stein and since confirmed by others.
Flagg missed eight games, during which the tanking Mavericks went 2-6. Flagg, as expected, will be on a minutes restriction in his return but those minutes will grow in future games, according to Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News.
The biggest impact of Flagg’s absence — and potentially his return — could be in the Rookie of the Year race.
At the midpoint of the season, Flagg and his college teammate at Duke, Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel, were in a virtual dead heat for Rookie of the Year. Since then, Flagg has missed considerable time (he’s played in 13 fewer games than Knueppel) while Knueppel has been scoring efficiently and leading the Hornets up the East standings into the playoff mix. Knueppel has started to take a solid lead in this race.
Flagg has about six weeks left in the season to change that dynamic. Whether or not he can do it, at least he is back on the court.
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