The Dallas Mavericks may be losing games, but the vibes feel suddenly lighter after a trade deadline that hit the reset button on the franchise. No, it isn’t Anthony Davis’ fault that he stood at the center of the worst trade in sports history. But once the Mavericks were gifted Cooper Flagg last summer the organization needed to look themselves in the mirror and clean house of the remnants of the most tumultuous and embarrassing time in the team’s history.
So now, we move. And in the midst of this
week’s moves which settles the future cap sheet of the team and likely invests all energy in securing a top draft pick this summer, Cooper Flagg is playing jaw-dropping basketball. That is the focus of this week’s Power Rankings Watch, as he puts together a rookie season few have accomplished.
ESPN
Rank: 22
Last week: 23
Player under the most pressure: Cooper Flagg
Flagg arrived in the league under the pressure of living up to the hype of being billed as a generational prospect. He has carried that burden quite well. Flagg, 19, is on pace to become only the fifth rookie since the ABA-NBA merger to average at least 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. The others: Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Grant Hill and Luka Doncic. — MacMahon
The Athletic
Rank: 23 (Tier 4: Not the Tier to Fear)
Last week: 24
Trade deadline Photoshop: PF Giannis Antetokounmpo
Jason Kidd winds up calmly crashing out once a season because of the ridiculous circumstances his teams wind up in during his tenure. While Cooper Flagg is figuring things out individually, it is clear that the rest of Dallas’ roster makes no sense. So sure, let’s just do a Giannis Antetokounmpo-Anthony Davis straight-up trade and call it a deadline.
NBA
Rank: 22
Last week: 22
Three takeaways
- Flagg missed the Mavs’ loss to the Wolves on Wednesday, but came back to total 83 points against Charlotte and Houston, with his 49 against Kon Knueppel and the Hornets being the most in NBA history for a teenager. He shot 25-for-34 (74%) in the paint over the two games and is now averaging 10.8 points in the paint per game, which would be the most for a rookie under 6-foot-10 in the last 15 years.
- The Mavs’ defense has held up OK, allowing 114.1 points per 100 possessions over the losing streak, with all four opponents ranking in the top 10 offensively. But beyond Flagg, offense has been a struggle. They’ve scored just 97.7 points per 100 possessions in his 81 minutes off the floor during the losing streak, and the loss to the Wolves without him was the sixth time this season that they’ve made five or fewer 3-pointers.
- The Mavs had a stretch where they went 8-5 against the 16 teams that currently have winning records. But they’ve lost three straight and are now 9-17 against that group overall. Their loss in Houston on Saturday was their first in seven straight games against winning teams.
Coming up: The Mavs are just 1-7 in rest-advantage games and will play their ninth on Thursday, the first game of a home-and-home set with the Spurs. The first meeting (on opening night) was the Mavs’ second-worst offensive game of the season (91 points on 101 possessions).
Bleacher Report
Rank: 22
Last week: 23
This week, the Dallas Mavericks went winless and traded Anthony Davis for a package of players who aren’t likely to make a difference this season and picks that could prove awfully light on value.
But things are undoubtedly looking up for this organization, because it did the right thing in shedding AD and fully calibrating the future around Flagg.
His superstar potential has been evident since before his lone season at Duke, but it’s really surfacing in the NBA now. Over his last four games, Flagg is averaging 37.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 threes and 1.8 blocks, while shooting 44.4 percent from deep.
