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Rookie years are not supposed to be easy. However, Cooper Flagg had to place the weight of a whole franchise on his shoulders. He came into Jason Kidd's Dallas Mavericks system without Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and they later traded away Anthony Davis. The young phenom out of the Duke Blue Devils had to fend for himself. Now, the Mavs are sinking more into the depths of the Western Conference standings. Flagg even outlined some new frustrations about his game after their loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Flagg's introspective conundrum in Dallas
A 122-92 loss to the Raptors cannot be good for anyone's mental fortitude. The fact that the Mavs are also just a loss away from becoming the 13th-seed in the Western Conference makes life harder for Flagg too. Notably, he found it hard to circumvent the opposing defense which made it difficult to get buckets.
At certain points, the Mavs rookie also awaited certain whistles that just did not come. Flagg was livid about this but had no choice but to just find ways to improve his style of play accordingly, via Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.
"It is what it is. I have got to be better at just slowing down a little bit. Been playing a little too fast since I got back. I don’t know. I was frustrated. Kind of let it out. I have got to just move on," the Mavs rookie declared.
Flagg only went on the free-throw line thrice in this game and knocked out two of his attempts. He clearly wanted more fouls to be called against the Raptors but there was just nothing that he could do. Coach Kidd saw that his young Mavs star was visibly livid during the game which even led to the rookie getting his first technical foul.
The Mavs head coach tried to uplift his spirits.
"He’s attacking. I think he just has to play. He has a right to express his feelings to the officials and he did that. I don’t mind the T, but I also understand we’re on the road. Frustration can set in, but you got to keep your composure and you got t continue to keep attacking until they blow the whistle. That’s just part of the game. He received his first T. It won’t be his last T. He is driving and some of them might be fouls, but if that whistle doesn’t blow, you got t keep playing," Kidd said.
Flagg still had a decent outing with 17 points while knocking down seven out of his 17 shots from the field. Whenever he could not find the shooting stroke, the Mavs rookie kicked it out to his teammates so that the offense would not stall. This led to him notching six assists. Defensively, he was also great while grabbing two steals, three blocks, and eight rebounds. He committed four turnovers but those ballhandling and passing woes can be patched up as Flagg grows in the NBA.
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