The Dallas Mavericks set a miserable task for No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg. They constructed a tall, unwieldy roster without enough shooting or ball-handling, then told a power forward-sized 18-year-old to play the point. For the first fifth of the season, that went about as well as one might expect. Even a player of Flagg’s obvious and immense talents looked overmatched, and for reasons beyond him, the Mavericks started the season at 5-15. But in every individual game, Flagg was still playing keen defense and doing lots of cool stuff that eluded the box score. In Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, he finally broke out on those terms, too: 35 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and just three turnovers while running the offense. Flagg became the youngest player ever to score 35, beating LeBron James to the mark by five days.
Scanning the injury report before yesterday’s game, I would not have picked Flagg to pop on that particular night. The Mavs were down Anthony Davis (left calf injury management), Dereck Lively (right foot), and Daniel Gafford (right foot). P.J. Washington was a late scratch after rolling his ankle on a loose basketball during warmups. Klay Thompson was initially on the injury report too, with a sore left knee, but changed his mind after taking a dip in the Pacific Ocean. (“Anytime you touch the earth, it gives you energy,” he said after the game. I would argue that the ocean is not the earth, but I don’t want to further derail this post.) Down two of their top three scorers and much of their depth, these were hardly ideal conditions for a career night from a rookie. But maybe it simplified the task at hand. No one else was going to make anything happen but him.
At least one other factor was playing in his favor: The opponent was the 5-14 Clippers, who looked totally dry-aged and disengaged by comparison. Flagg notched his 35 points without a single made three-pointer, mostly rocking in isolation against various depleted uncs: James Harden (hands limp at waist level as he slowly wheels around to watch his man blow by), Kawhi Leonard (I’m still adjusting to the reality of a Kawhi with no defensive motor who closes out at waltz tempo), and even sometimes Chris Paul (looked like a baby that was somehow also old). John Collins is (somehow) only 28, but he didn’t stand a chance either. Flagg was too strong, balanced, and hellbent on getting to his spots.
On the floor with one big and three vaguely credible shooters, the game seemed to slow down for the rookie, partially in the sense that he was guarded by extremely slow-moving men. Flagg flowed into pull-up jumpers, finished with both hands, and got to the line 11 times. His two-handed dunk over Ivica Zubac, at the 2:15 mark of this highlight reel, was an immediate career highlight:
A rare vintage shooting night from Klay Thompson (23 points, 6-of-10 from three) helped the Mavs pull away late and win 114-110, handing the Clippers their seventh consecutive home loss. Just the night before, in a loss to the Lakers, Flagg became the only 18-year-old ever to log 11 assists. With his vision and physicality, you can see why head coach Jason Kidd would want to put the ball in Flagg’s hands, but it’d be a lot easier if Dallas had a roster that could actually support him in that role.
Even after this anomalous scoring explosion, the Mavericks still have many needs. But their top rookie has given the front office, recently vacated by storied dumbass Nico Harrison, another reason to build on his timeline. Maybe Cooper Flagg is just one Anthony Davis trade away from getting really comfortable in the NBA.
