Aside from Victor Wembanyama’s NBA Awards eligibility and Cooper Flagg’s ROY case, the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks both come into their 4th and final match-up this season with little to play for. The Spurs, locked into the #2 seed, are just waiting for the playoffs to get here, while Dallas has both eyes set on the NBA Draft Lottery after struggling mightily in the franchise’s first full season without Luka Doncic. Regardless of the reason, these two Texas franchises are both looking forward
to the end of the 2025-2026 NBA regular season, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be some fun left to be had.
San Antonio Spurs (61-19) vs Dallas Mavericks (25-55)
April 10 2026 | 7:00 PM CT
Watch: KENS | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: Victor Wembanyama, ribs (questionable), Stephon Castle, foot (questionable)
Mavericks Injuries: Caleb Martin, heel (OUT), Daniel Gafford, shoulder (OUT), Kyrie Irving, knee (OUT), Dereck Lively II, foot (OUT, Naji Marshall, hip (day to day), Klay Thompson (day to day), PJ Washington, elbow (day to day), Brandon Williams (day to day)
What to watch for
- Coming into the season, the consensus was that Cooper Flagg would be the 2026 Rookie of the Year. The 6’9 forward has flashed real two-way dominance in his first season in the league, setting a few NBA records along the way, but there’s been plenty of chatter recently about Flagg’s former Duke teammate guard Kon Knueppel, who’s made a huge difference his first season with the Charlotte Hornets. Flagg became the first teenager in the history of the NBA to score at least 50 points when he dropped 51 points on 19/30 from the field one week ago today in a loss to the Orlando Magic. Flagg won’t be 20 years old until December 21, 2027.
- Head coach Mitch Johnson’s key focus these last couple games is almost certainly on being completely healthy heading into Game 1 of San Antonio’s first round match-up, whoever they may be. It’s a pretty safe bet then that Johnson is going to play Victor Wembanyama no more than the 20 minutes that Wembanyama needs to meet the hotly debated 65-game award minimum in either game Wemby makes his return. Don’t be surprised if the rest of the starters as well as Keldon Johnson are kept on a short leash minutes-wise as well with the Spurs locked into the 2-seed.
- Dylan Haprper could be the exception to that rule. Harper, who has had a great rookie season in his own right, has been shooting the ball incredibly well since the beginning of March. He’s proven himself all year long and will be a big part of any postseason success San Antonio has, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t still soak up valuable minutes in the final couple of games of his rookie season.
If you’d like to, you may follow along with the game on our Twitter profile (@poundingtherock) or visit our Game Thread!
