Around The Beat: Bench Minutes, Lineup Trends And The…

By the Mavericks Nightly Desk · Thursday, October 15

Reserves outscored the Mavericks' own starters by 43 points in the Pelicans loss, and three outlets built roster-spot arguments on top of it. Dallas still waits on word that Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg clear their rest tags before Friday's game against the Hawks.

Mavericks Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

The Bench Earned The Pitch

Tobi Lawal went 4-for-6 for 16 points with a steal and a block in 24 minutes against the Pelicans, the two-way line The Smoking Cuban's Will Miller cited in arguing he already deserves a roster spot. Mavs Moneyball's Gracie Villiard called Daniel Gafford still a valuable piece for 2026-27, though he sat that game on a rest tag and remains day-to-day with an estimated return of October 16. Mavs.com and Miller both pushed Sergio de Larrea's case for backup point guard minutes; he played a team-high 30 minutes with 10 points and 6 assists, but also 5 turnovers. The Smoking Cuban's Noah Weber called Tarik Biberovic the shooter Dallas needed with Klay Thompson gone — he went 1-for-9 from three and finished a game-worst minus-7. The bigger truth: Dallas' reserves outscored the starters 70-27.

Who Starts Next To Flagg

The Smoking Cuban's Noah Weber flagged an early starting lineup trend he argued makes Max Christie more dangerous. The numbers back a version of it: the Washington-Gafford-Williams-Christie-Flagg five is plus-2.2 over 14 games and 73 minutes this season, the club's best grouping, while a Washington-Gafford-Marshall-Christie-Flagg unit has been underwater at minus-0.6 over 92 minutes. Austin McGee, also at The Smoking Cuban, countered that Christie's shooting shouldn't overshadow Zaccharie Risacher's upside, and Weber separately tied Masai Ujiri's long-term plan to Risacher. Risacher scored 16 points in the October 11 win at Houston but didn't appear in the Pelicans box score, leaving his Friday role unsettled.

Irving, Flagg And A Rumor That Isn't

Mavs Moneyball's Michael Harris passed along Kyrie Irving calling Cooper Flagg poised to be one of the greats, and The Smoking Cuban's Jake Schroeder argued Irving's return finally frees up Flagg's playmaking. Both are tagged day-to-day for rest with an estimated return of October 16, tomorrow's game against the Hawks; last season Flagg averaged 4.5 assists over 70 games, and Irving carries the roster's largest contract at $39.5 million. Matt Martinez, also at Mavs Moneyball, noted the national media attention already on Flagg entering year two. Weber also floated three Pistons targets "if Kyrie Irving trade talks heat up" — a premise nothing in the rumor reports or notes columns from Brian Windhorst or Eddie Sefko has echoed.

Is Kyrie Irving playing against the Hawks?

He's tagged day-to-day for rest with an estimated return of October 16, the date of the Hawks game, so he's trending toward available.

Why did Dallas' bench outscore the starters against the Pelicans?

Reserves led by Tobi Lawal, John Poulakidas, Seth Lundy and Sergio de Larrea combined to outproduce the starting unit 70-27 in the 97-101 loss.

By the Mavericks Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.