Why the Mavs’ COMEBACK vs OKC Thunder Leaves the Dallas Mavericks With More Big Picture Questions
The Dallas Mavericks mounted a near comeback against the Oklahoma City Thunder but fell short in a hard-fought NBA matchup. Can Cooper Flagg bounce back from his struggles, and what do Anthony Davis and the Mavs need to improve while waiting for Kyrie Irving’s return? Get analysis on Dallas Mavericks trends, breakdowns of the Mavs’ defensive effort, and reactions to key young players in the NBA.
Nick Angstadt is joined by co-hosts Slightly Biased to discuss the Mavericks’ performance, featuring insight on Klay Thompson, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, PJ Washington, Naji Marshall, D’Angelo Russell, and head coach Jason Kidd. Listen for a deep dive into how injuries, lineup changes, and rookie Cooper Flagg’s development are impacting the team, plus how Anthony Davis is handling his role at center. The episode also covers OKC Thunder’s defense, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and much more from around the NBA.
0:00 Mavs Thunder Comeback?!
13:18 Cooper Flag’s Early Struggles
23:17 Anthony Davis: Fitness & Team Impact
Locked On Mavs TEXT LINE: Support the show and get texts from Nick & Isaac on every Mavs Rumors, News Updates, Game Previews, Q&As, & More…
📲 https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonmavs
📲 TEXT: 214-643-8637
Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-mavericks/
🎧 Apple https://buff.ly/2nE23zM
🎧 Spotify https://buff.ly/2D9kZgK
🎧 YouTube Music https://buff.ly/3LCb3gh
🎧 Pocket Casts https://pca.st/bPVO
🎧 Overcast https://buff.ly/34r6SOi
🎧 Castbox https://buff.ly/4bAM0EL
🎧 Audible https://buff.ly/3SjqZZm
🎧 Himalaya http://bit.ly/2pS463P
🎧 Audacy https://bit.ly/2SydQib
Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA
📲 Follow Locked On Mavs on Twitter – https://twitter.com/LockedOnMavs
📲 Follow Locked On Mavs on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/lockedonmavs
📲 Follow Locked On Mavs on TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@lockedonmavericks
📲 Isaac Harris Twitter https://twitter.com/IsaacLHarris
📲 Nick Angstadt Twitter https://twitter.com/NickVanExit
📲 Nick Angstadt TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@nickvanexit
📲 Nick Angstadt Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nickvanexit
📢 Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! | Offers from our sponsors: lockedonpodcasts.com/offers
OLIPOPGet a free can of OLIPOP! Just buy any two cans in store and they’ll reimburse you for one. Head to drinkolipop.com/LOCKEDONNBA to claim your free can and find OLIPOP near you.
SKIMSShop SKIMS Mens at SKIMS.com/lockedonnba. Let them know we sent you! After you place your order, select “podcast” in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows.
OpenPhoneStreamline and scale your customer communications with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/lockedonnba
WayFairGive your home the refresh it needs with Wayfair. Head to Wayfair.com right now. Wayfair. Every style. Every home.
Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first year
GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.
FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.
FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
#CooperFlagg #AnthonyDavis #KyrieIrving #DallasMavericks #Dallas #NBA #Mavericks #Mavs #DallasMavs #MFFL
47 Comments
What does the Mavs' comeback say about their team identity?
We almost there. Add a couple of our missing players to the mix and we get the W. Survived a 19 win season as a Mavs fan so not giving up on them. Maybe stop trying to put a cape on Flagg and let him come off the bench with Klay. I still feel B-Will has the best handles besides Kyrie, my five would be.B-Will, Max, PJ, Davis Gafford second five D-Low, Klay, Naji, Flagg, D-Live. I still believe our finished product will be hard to stop. Go Mavs!!
we going for 1-81 record
That man slightly checked out before the come back
Am I the only Mav’s fan over lively, tbh stop talking about why aren’t we doing double big cuz I think we will when gaf is back but lively either is unavailable for just not play able with Davis
They need a point guard. It’s as simple as that. Time to shop PJ, Gaff and Naji for Ja or Lamelo
I mean the 22-2 run was encouraging and 0 fouls on the foul grift gods ina whole half
Omax only played one minute today for Grizzlies…and he outscored(4pts) Cooper Flag(2pts) with 31 minutes
Why are we excited about a comeback loss lol okc clearly took they're foot off the gas and they didn't even play well
Luka would kill this OKC! Easy! Watch 2023 season vs OKC!
Shame on this mavs team . ..
Love how it’s completely acceptable for ad to come in out of shape but Mavs front office has hissy fits when luka did it the double standards are crazy , very hypocritical
I dont get how you can say they are trending in the right direction when the gm sets the benchmark at win now. Minus Irving granted, but this is supposed to be a chip contender full stop. If the management sets the bar there, don't let them get away with it, judge them accordingly.
Idk yall trippin we were down 22 then went on a 21-2 run in the forth against the biggest foul baiter in the history of not just basketball but sports and the lakers lost by 14 to the blazers
As predicted, the crash out with a loss.
Turnovers way down.
Hardy showed life and trusted in 4Q.
Christie rising.
AD dominating on offense.
Klay has been God Awful. If it's me he goes to the bench til he gets that shot right. Our Starting 5 should be DLo, Flagg, PJ/Naji, AD, Lively/Gaff. That needs to be your Starting rotation. Dealing with all that length and athleticism and 2 way players. Good Luck… Truthfully Love Klay but to me come the Deadline he is your most expendable wing for the right piece of course. PJ and Naji need to be your Long term Wings for the future. Both give this team toughness/grit. The true Identity and the heart and soul of this team…
This is coaching. They’re a step behind everyone. All the slop is on Kidd. DLO took the clipboard from him twice.
The Mavericks problem is COACHING! EVERYBODY can see that DLo gotta be playing PG! EVERYBODY can see the offense flows better when Dlo is leading the offense! EVERYBODY can see Klay Thompson Is a liability and shouldn’t be starting over Max Christi! EVERYBODY can see that Cooper Flagg should be at the 3 so he can thrive and play to his strengths. EVERY fan, EVERY podcast, EVER sports show talk and say ALL the things I just mentioned so PLEASE tell me how Jason Kidd don’t see it?🤔 Mavs have a GOOD BUIT team but Kidd ain’t using his pieces the right way. This s**t is like a puzzle 🧩 you gotta put the pieces together so it fits!!!
I said it before the season: Max Christie should start over Klay. He is the closest thing we have to a 3&D guard next to DLo, which is critical. Klay no longer has any D, which means he should be a bench guy.
Mavs drafted the wrong player😂 you cant make the shit up😂 Sixers and Spurs got the REAL stars
Does anyone else, like me, miss the times when it was fun to watch Mavericks games? Now it’s really painful.
When you realize Cooper Flagg is just white Kyle Kuzma 😂
Lakers fake come backs
Where was these negative comments yesterday when coop went crazy? There were none you guys bashing him or can’t see his game is blind. His development will be better than all the rookies from this. Remember GREEK FREAK!!. Similar player loading….
We almost won!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
The scary thing about the Thunder is that they are 4-0 without J-DUB (Jalen Williams). If he comes back healthy, they are going to be hard team to beat
Cooper is not a PG. Period. Why is Kidd playing him at point? Like wtf.
Flagg has no handles and needs personality. He is to boring and doesn't bring energy required for a #1 pick. Flagg is on the clock until age 22.
Mavs fans might be the worst fans in all of sports
Remember when Luka went against the LA Clippers and they tried to break him by beating him up . Well, Cooper will have to go though the same thing . Don’t let them break you Cooper .
Quick vent.. the temp feels bad for most of us right bow.. big talks on this 4-1 prediction start to the season.. and we are looking like it will be 1-4.. coop is young and u expect growing pains and learning curves.. but this is where the Nico shit pisses you off because we already been through all this with our All-Star seven years ago and would’ve been on track to winning this championship a whole lot closer than we are now.. that’s what’s frustrating.. not coopers fault at all but he will catch all these strays from fans which sucks for him.. 🤷🏼 but here we are
People’s over reactions are so goofy, we are turning into one of the most obnoxious fan bases with the least amount of perspective and the highest amount of entitlement when we still haven’t won a chip since 2011 lol 😂 let the team rebuild, let the young kid struggle and learn, and be fan or don’t
It’s embarrassing how much whining there is every game😂
Oh, we lost.😮🤔
This team needs a stretch 5 if they are going to play Cooper Flag. Trade Dlive and Powell for Jaren Jackson
Its gonna be fine
its only the third game…
To say this is a disjointed team and organization is an understatement of biblical proportions. Blame it all on the new kid who you said you were gonna make uncomfortable.
wtf is going on, this is the problem with how social the world has become. ITS FOUR GAMES OF COOPERS CAREER. i miss luka as much as everyone else here, but there were countless times that luka started a game 1/8, 2/10, 2/11 and ended up being something like 9/22 with a triple double or something to compensate/look better. the difference is he was the main ball handler, had the keys from the start, and there was no other superstar in his prime to go to, or expectations for the team as a whole.
Laker fan here , max Christie is the truth , I love we have Luka , but I wish we could of kept Christie somehow in that trade , he should be a starter period
Everyone who is overreacting to 4 games of cooper Flagg😂 cmon man r we fr like we’re scrutinizing a kid as fans of the mavs and just enjoyers of basketball bc he’s not averaging 20 10 and 4 in his first 4 games?😂 just bc Luka did it that means he should do it, Luka played on a significantly less talented team where his game is predicated on dominant on ball offense. U want a comparison for coopers development look at kawhi, “BUT COOPER IS WAS THE FIRST PICK” yes bc of his potential that is what was advertised nobody ever thought cooper was going to come in the nba and average 20 in his first season. Ppl saying cooper is struggling on offense have not been watching the games, he has shown more than enough offensive flashes considering he wasn’t drafted for his offense coming into the nba. This is so sad watching Mavs fans talk bad about this kid bc 29 other teams would be praising the shit out of him. I understand I LOVE LUKA he meant everything to the fans and the organization, but bro get over it and give him time and grace to at least attempt to fill Luka’s shoes YALL are passing judgement way to quick for a 18 year old kid. Everybody is different there is never gonna be another Luka but there is also never gonna be a Cooper let that kid hoops and grow at his own pace
With Kyrie Irving out after tearing his ACL in March and not expected back until around January or February 2026, the Mavericks are in a weird spot at guard. They still need that downhill creator who can put pressure on a defense every single possession, and Kyrie is literally built to do that — he bends the floor with his handle, burst, and ability to get his own shot whenever he wants. Dallas has already made it clear they’re not rushing him, and the internal expectation is a midseason return window, not October.
That’s exactly why Brandon Williams matters.
When Williams is out there, Dallas can still play at “Kyrie pace.” He’s not Kyrie, but the shape of the offense looks similar: he can beat his man off the dribble without needing a perfect screen, he can get downhill and make the defense collapse, and he can create his own shot late in the clock. That lets the Mavericks keep running the same drive-and-react spacing the team normally runs with Kyrie, instead of having to slow down into a totally different system.
That continuity is huge for the rest of the roster. Most of Dallas’ role guys are finishers — lob targets, corner shooters, cutters — not pure self-creators. They’re most dangerous when somebody is constantly attacking the first defender and forcing rotations. Kyrie usually gives them that. While he’s out, Brandon Williams is the closest thing on the roster to that same pressure profile.
And it also protects the bigger picture. Without Kyrie available until 2026, Dallas can’t afford every non-Kyrie minute to turn into “we can’t get a clean look.” Williams keeps the offense in attack mode instead of survival mode. He’s basically the bridge that keeps the identity intact until Kyrie is cleared.
bad game by coop, oh well
This damn starting line up! Start a damn PG!
DLO- Nim
Max-Klay-Hardy
PJ- Coop- Naji
AD- Gaff- PJ
DLive- Gaff- AD
Since we’re still kinda deep, I’d do matchups
Mavericks will make the playoffs. It’s 4 games into the season and yall are writing them off.
I love the retro green jerseys.
I am not sure if you realize that Flagg hurt his shoulder in the first quarter and couldn't do much after that point.
I thought Cooper was a better rookie prospect than Luka