The Dallas Mavericks opted for a coaching change this season, parting ways with Jason Kidd and replacing him with longtime college coach Dusty May. With a budding superstar on their hands in Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks did what they thought was best in terms of a coach getting the most out of the former No. 1 pick. And so far, the pairing between the two has been phenomenal, as per Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports.
Cooper Flagg has gotten off to an incredible start to the season for the Mavericks, and he credits Dusty May for putting in him positions on the court where he can be successful.
“It’s been great,” Flagg said. “He watched a ton of film from last year and knows my game pretty well. So just whatever he’s seeing where he wants to put me, it’s working really well.”
The Mavericks have gotten off to a 4-3 start to the season, with Flagg playing the best basketball of his early career. The 20-year-old is on pace for his first career All-Star selection. He’s appeared in six of the Mavericks’ seven games to begin the season at a little over 33 minutes per game.
Article Continues BelowThe former Duke star is averaging 25.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocked shots with splits of 48.6 percent shooting from the field, 23.3 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 88.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Last season, Kidd took flak for playing Flagg at point guard, an experiment that only lasted a handful of games. But judging by the early returns this season, that also helped in Flagg’s overall development.