Aaron Nesmith rose to challenge Cooper Flagg’s transition dunk attempt, even though he was clearly beaten to the rim late in the second quarter on Friday as the Dallas Mavericks were putting the hurt on the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The arm he went up to contest with didn’t come within a foot of the ball as Flagg extended it toward the rack, but Nesmith followed through anyway on a hard foul, sending Flagg to the hardwood with one minute left before halftime and the Mavericks up 73-40.
Flagg stayed on the ground for a minute while a shoving match escalated between Naji Marshall and Nesmith after the play. It looked like the hard landing was what hurt the shoulder, more so than the initial contact in the air with Nesmith. Flagg was with a member of the training staff for a few minutes while the officials sorted out what ended up being a double-technical foul situation, but did shoot and make the two free throws that resulted from the play.
But Flagg did not start the third quarter against the Pacers. Marshall took his place in the starting five for the second half after scoring five points and coming to his teammate’s defense late in the first half.
The officials’ debate in the extended review after the foul was called was most likely between a flagrant-1 and a flagrant-2 penalty. A flagrant-1 penalty is called when contact is made that is deemed unnecessary or outside of a normal, legitimate basketball play, such as a reckless closeout, tripping, or a hard shoulder check. A flagrant-2 is called when a player commits contact that is deemed both unnecessary and excessive, carrying a high potential for injury.
Flagg made both his free throws after the play to give him 14 points for the game. He was on his way to another big game to open his second season, also filling out the stat sheet with six first-half assists and five rebounds before the hard foul.
The team was slow to update the second-year star’s injury status throughout the halftime break, and mum was the word for the first half of the third quarter.
With about five minutes left in the third, the Mavericks PR team announced that Flagg would not return to the game. They officially designated the injury as “ left shoulder soreness.”
The play had all the markings of sour grapes against the young stud that was tearing the home team apart. The situation felt dirty, even if there were arguments to be made either way as to whether the play was dirty.
Tempers flared again late in the third quarter between Mavericks guard Marcus Sasser and Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard, when Sasser fouled Nembhard inside on a broken play.
Mavericks fans the Metroplex over now hold their collective breath in anticipation of further announcements on how long Flagg might be out. The good news is that the team initially termed the shoulder issue as “soreness” rather than a sprain.
