Cooper Flagg Should NOT be this Good…

Cooper Flagg Should NOT be this Good…

Cooper Flag is better than we thought. After a rocky start in game one and what he admitted was the worst performance of his life, he comes back in game two to the tune of 31 points on 10 of 21 shooting. And if he can even be a half of what he was the other night for this Maverick summer league team in the regular season in playoffs, this Mavericks team is going to go a long way. This is a team that could have championship written all over it if they stay healthy and if Flag performs like he did tonight. And speaking of his second game, let’s take a look at that now. Let’s go through the film because he was a lot better. Starts off with a drive baseline for his first bucket of the game. Tough and one got it to go. Like we said, he finished with 31 points, four rebounds, one assist, and one block in 31 minutes. Shot 10 of 21 from the field, three of nine from beyond the arc, and eight of 13 from the free throw line. So he really could have had, you know, 35 points if he makes for the pot free throws. He misses. Walking into a three right here. And that’s tough right there. Coming off the screen, you go under the screen, Carter Bryant does, who is a really good defender. We’ve learned that already. And at 69 with a 7 foot wingspan, you’re expecting him to get downhill. Instead, he just pulls up and knocks it down. Relocating here, moving without the ball and stepping into the wide openen three ball. That’s a nice trait to have. and then just one dribble knockdown over Harrison Ingram who got some NBA time last year. The pick and roll reads were good as well here. He drags the defender all the way out and eventually pulls up for the three ball. He’s got the big rolling. A decent job defensively by the Spurs, but right here as he’s reading the big. The big just never commits. So, he gets to his spot at the elbow and knocks it down. Then here we are in pretty much the same exact set and he’s going to drive right past Carter Bryant, fend him off with his off hand and get to that left-handed layup. Nimart’s going to set a little ghost screen which creates just enough space for Coupe to get the edge on him, get downhill and use that off arm to fend off Carter Bryant. Really strong move right there. and then getting all the way to the rim with his left hand with the early pick and roll action. Getting Riley Min on him and then just getting right downhill straight to the rim and finishing with that left hand. He also got some big time dunks last night right here. Ryan Nimhard up top to Cooper Flag. And Nimhard is a guy that could make this Maverick’s team. He’s been looking pretty good in the summer league. He and Flag are the only two that have looked decent whatsoever for this Mavericks team. on this play. He comes off the go screen, reads the defense, and just flies right down the middle of the paint. As you can see, he’s coming to set a screen for Nimhard. So, the defense thinks that’s what it is. Carter Bryant switches. They rotate and dig, but they don’t recover in time. And Flag’s able to get right downhill. Nobody wants to meet that man at the rim. Shot fake. And man, if he finished that, social media would have been in a frenzy. This was the final bucket of the game for him. And I mean, respectable that he kept it to a 10-point game or it was a nine-point game after this dunk with this Mav squad because if you look at their roster, they have two guys that aren’t rookies and only one of those guys has ever touched an NBA court. Whereas the Spurs have two lottery picks. They also have Minick and Harrison Ingram who have played some NBA minutes. This is a good Spurs summer league team and Flag was out there keeping it very respectable. So, I’d say that the opening debut for Flag, yes, the first game wasn’t great, but they did win it. So, he has an impact on winning. And then the second game, he proved why he’s the best player in this class and why he will fit in right away to this Dallas team. And this Dallas defense is going to be so incredible. I cannot wait to watch it. However, the big thing for Dallas is going to be health. And that starts with getting Kyrie Irving healthy. Remember, he tore his ACL during the second half of last season, and he’s supposed to be out till about January of this season, which really stinks. But once they get him back, they should be able to hit full gear. 25 points a game, five rebounds, 4.6 assist, and 1.3 steals on 47% shooting from the field, 40% from three on seven attempts a game. And yes, he’s going to be 33 years old next year, but he’s still one of the best point guards in the game. Without Luca, last year, he averaged 26.5 points per game, 5.2 2 rebounds and 4.2 assist. And he did that on 45% shooting from the field and 36% from beyond the arc on about 7 and a half attempts per game. Kyrie is at this point kind of becoming underrated. I mean, he went to the finals just two years ago and now nobody really talks about him in the elite guard conversations in the NBA. So, he’s going to have a get back year this year. And then you got DLO. And I love the 2-year $13 million deal for D’Angelo Russell. This is I said it before. This is the perfect deal for D’Angelo Russell because he gets to come in. Yes, he’s coming off a season where he averaged 12 1/2 points, 5.1 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in 27 minutes. Not great. He shot 39% from the field and 31% from three. However, he was the third option and he got traded mid-season, so the numbers would go down. Now, in Dallas, he’s expected to be the starting point guard halfway through the season and then he gets to be the backup. Remember just two years ago, he averaged 18-6 on 46% shooting from the field. 42% from three on six and a half attempts a game in Los Angeles. And that is a tough place to play, especially alongside of LeBron. He was supposed to be the third option and he was making $18 million a year. Now in Dallas, he gets to be the backup point guard. You know, he’s going to be the starter for the first half of the year and then once Kyrie comes back, he gets to be the backup point guard and manage this bench unit that really needs a go-to scorer. And I think he can get 12, 13, 14 a game off the bench with guys like Naji Marshall and Max Christie alongside him in the back court and then Derek Lively or Daniel Gaffford, whichever one of the bigs doesn’t start in the front court there off the bench with PJ Washington. It’s a really good bench unit. They resigned Daniel Gaffford to a threeyear $54 million contract. Pretty solid for a guy of Gaffford’s caliber. I mean, that’s not an overpay, but it’s not a steal by any means. 12.3 points a game, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 four assists and 1.8 blocks, shooting 70% from the field and 69% from the free throw line. So, Gaffford’s definitely guy, yes, he deserves some money. You had to pay him to keep him around. He was, of course, on that finals team. And yes, he’s probably better suited with a Luca Donuch type guy at point guard, but per 36, he averaged 20 and 11 with three blocks and 2.6 assists per game. I think he’s going to be just fine. I think that money is perfect. And of course, he’s going to be splitting time with Derek Lively at the five because, well, that’s what Anthony Davis has wanted all along. A guy that can come in and play the five. Now he’s got two of them and AD can roam the floor at the four. People forget how good this man is, especially when you run him at the four and let him just operate. He only played nine games in Dallas last year and only averaged 20 points a game during those games. But this year with a full year of AD hopefully well that’s never a guarantee but the seven foot monster with a 76 wingspan should be able to take over a lot of games here in Dallas. And this should be a really exciting Dallas team. I mean they go 10 deep of legit NBA role players. He averaged 26 a game with 12 boards, 3.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.3 blocks last year in Los Angeles. That big- time numbers right there. The efficiency wasn’t the greatest, but I mean, he can do a lot of stuff with the ball in his hands. With Lively, Gaffford, and AD in the front court, it’s going to be incredibly tough to score the ball against them, especially in the Pantheon interior. Defense is going to be on another level. He can even bring the ball up the court and play point guard a little bit, finding PJ Washington in the corner right here. And yeah, they had like 18 blocks in AD’s first game, which is right here against the Raptors. They blew the Raptors out. Yes, he only shot 56% from the field and 28% from three last year. Well, I say only 56%. That’s a really solid field goal percentage. Three-point percentage only at 28%, but he can step out and knock it down from time to time. And once this lineup gets healthy with Kyrie, Coupe, AD, Derek Lively, and of course, you can’t forget about Klay Thompson, who is the perfect floor spacer for these guys. That’s going to be a ridiculous starting lineup if they can get the chemistry down with Kyrie coming back late. And then the bench unit. I love this bench unit with DLO, with Naji Marshall, Max Christie, PJ Washington, and Daniel Gaffford. That is a fantastic backup. You also have guys like Caleb Martin, and maybe even Olivio Maxon’s Prosper. They can come in and give you some minutes. But like I said, PJ, Max Christie, Naji Marshall. Love the bench, guys, for this Mavericks team, especially Naji Marshall. He’s one of my guys. With that being said, that’s going to be it for today’s video. Thanks so much for watching. Make sure to the like button, leave me a comment down below, and hit that subscribe button if you did enjoy at any point. We’re looking for about 300 likes on today’s video. And with that being said, thanks so much for watching today’s video.

This video looks at the Dallas Mavericks and their rookie cooper Flagg and how good he could be after his elite performance in the NBA summer league
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