Morez Johnson Jr. was cleared off the Mavericks' injury report Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET, lifting the day-to-day tag he had carried since Oct. 11. He is available for Dallas's game against the Hawks that night at 8:00 p.m. ET.
What happened
Morez Johnson Jr. was cleared on the Mavericks' Friday, Oct. 16 injury report, issued at 7:00 p.m. ET, one hour before Dallas tips off against the Hawks. He had been listed day-to-day since Sunday, Oct. 11 for rest, a non-injury designation. No further detail or report comment was given on the clearance. It is the second time this preseason stretch he has been cleared; he was previously cleared Oct. 8 before being moved back to day-to-day on Oct. 11. Earlier in the stretch, he was day-to-day for a lower leg issue starting Sept. 30 and for an undisclosed issue starting Sept. 28.
What it means for the Mavericks
Dallas hosts the Hawks on Friday, Oct. 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET with the team at 0-0, since the 2026-27 regular season has not started. Johnson has no season line yet, so there is no scoring or minutes total to point to for him specifically. In games without him, Dallas has leaned on Cooper Flagg (33.5 minutes, 21.0 points), Anthony Davis (31.3 minutes, 20.4 points), P.J. Washington (31.0 minutes, 14.2 points), Naji Marshall (29.5 minutes, 15.2 points) and Max Christie (29.1 minutes, 12.3 points), with Brandon Williams, Daniel Gafford and Klay Thompson also logging rotation minutes. There is no record-with-or-without-him split yet, since no regular-season games have been played.
What to watch
No return timeline applies since Johnson is now cleared rather than sidelined. The next injury report will show whether he stays off the list through Friday's tip against the Hawks and into Dallas's following games. Given the pattern this preseason stretch, in which he moved between cleared and day-to-day status four times since Sept. 28, his status on upcoming reports is worth tracking.
Is Morez Johnson Jr. playing vs Hawks?
He was cleared on the Friday, Oct. 16 injury report, issued at 7:00 p.m. ET ahead of the 8:00 p.m. ET tip against the Hawks, so he is available.
When will Morez Johnson Jr. be back?
He is already back. The report moved him from day-to-day to cleared on Oct. 16, with no return timeline needed.