MACAO — Morez Johnson Jr. started at center in his NBA debut Friday as the Dallas Mavericks opened the preseason against the Houston Rockets at The Venetian Arena.
Mavericks coach Dusty May started Naji Marshall and Max Christie at guard, with Cooper Flagg and Zaccharie Risacher at forward.
Dallas took Flagg first overall in 2025, and Atlanta took Risacher first overall in 2024. Johnson went ninth overall in June, the same day Dallas hired May, who coached him at Michigan. Marshall signed a multi-year contract extension Aug. 2. Christie came to Dallas from the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025.
Dallas Mavericks Injury Report Against Houston Rockets
Six Mavericks are out. Kyrie Irving is listed for left knee rest. P.J. Washington Jr. has a left ankle sprain, and Marcus Sasser has left adductor soreness. Caleb Martin is out with an illness. Santi Aldama is out after right knee surgery, and Dereck Lively II is out after right foot surgery.
Before tip-off, May said Irving will play in Sunday’s second game in Macao. Irving has not played since he tore his left ACL against the Sacramento Kings on March 3, 2025. A day earlier, May said Irving would play in only one of the two games.
Aldama has been limited in camp since a knee procedure in March. Daniel Gafford is not on the injury report and did not start.
Dusty May On Small-Ball Lineups
Johnson started all 40 games for May’s national championship team at Michigan. He averaged 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 62.3% from the field. Winning any type of game is one of the biggest keys to success for May, and that takes interchangeable players.
“I think there will be some small-ball lineups, and I wouldn’t classify Coop as the four, the three, or the two, because we’ll have, I guess, three guys that are very similar to him, that are positionless, and it’s dependent on who’s guarding them,” May said. “But there will be times, hopefully, when we get our roster back in full, that we’ll be able to play big and we’ll be able to play small.”
“We do think one of the biggest keys to success is being able to play no matter what type of game it is, being able to win in any type of game. To do that, you have to be able to play big, you have to be able to play small, and you have to be interchangeable,” May continued. “So we’re excited to see our full group, and more excited to see how we figure some things out with the limited roster.”
The teams meet again Sunday at 5 a.m. CT on NBA TV. Dallas opens the regular season Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. CT in Houston.
