Flagg preseason debut: looking as good as advertised at 18 years old

[dirkdiggler4177]

He showed his whole game in his preseason debut. 10points, 6rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 0 turnovers.
I'm surprised he worked this well in what I expected to be a clogged offense with Lively, Davis, and Flagg, but it looked good because Flagg attacks the middle with the drive, and also got the passing vision. Plus, he got a great motor and is very active on defense.

Game 1:

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Game 2:

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Game 3:

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Game 4:

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[SlimShady83]

Health will be key for Dallas

[dirkdiggler4177]

Health will be key for Dallas

You would think so, but the team is pretty stacked. As soon as someone goes down, there are players who could easily start without a problem. But of course, if Davis goes really down-down, there is a problem, but that is true for any team losing their best player.

The bench:

C: Daniel Gafford
PF: P.J. Washington
SF: Naji Marshall
SG: Max Christie
PG: Dante Exum


+Jaden Hardy, Brandon Williams, Caleb Martin, and Dwight Powell

[Bob8]

Health will be key for Dallas

You would think so, but the team is pretty stacked. As soon as someone goes down, there are players who could easily start without a problem. But of course, if Davis goes really down-down, there is a problem, but that is true for any team losing their best player.

The bench:

C: Daniel Gafford
PF: P.J. Washington
SF: Naji Marshall
SG: Max Christie
PG: Dante Exum


+Jaden Hardy, Brandon Williams, Caleb Martin, and Dwight Powell

Bench is not the problem, problem will be creating against serious team, OKC last night was nearer to summer league than anything else. I honestly don't understand what is the point of preparation games, if half of teams are not playing their best players? You would imagine they want to train offensive and defensive system, but they rather play rotations you will never see in RS.

[Handlez]

Love this kid

[FrodoBaggins]

He looked great. Everyone acknowledges his obvious high "floor," but his ceiling of potential is through the roof. His progression as a shooter and passer, especially on-ball, has been exceptional.

[dirkdiggler4177]

Health will be key for Dallas

You would think so, but the team is pretty stacked. As soon as someone goes down, there are players who could easily start without a problem. But of course, if Davis goes really down-down, there is a problem, but that is true for any team losing their best player.

The bench:

C: Daniel Gafford
PF: P.J. Washington
SF: Naji Marshall
SG: Max Christie
PG: Dante Exum


+Jaden Hardy, Brandon Williams, Caleb Martin, and Dwight Powell

Bench is not the problem, problem will be creating against serious team, OKC last night was nearer to summer league than anything else. I honestly don't understand what is the point of preparation games, if half of teams are not playing their best players? You would imagine they want to train offensive and defensive system, but they rather play rotations you will never see in RS.

Yes, I totally agree. I think preseason is about running schemes. With that said, a lot of players are trying to make the NBA. So the energy and intensity are mostly there, but not the skill. Like some of the players in the preseason looks like they are playing in the finals because those 10minutes they get can be worth a contract of a million or two.

The Mavs are supposed to run a more Kings-like offense with the big man screening and passing, and wings doing backdoors and similar. Like a lot of motion. We saw some of that today.

[Airmiess]

It's ironic that he's making Luka-like reads already at 18.

[Bob8]

You would think so, but the team is pretty stacked. As soon as someone goes down, there are players who could easily start without a problem. But of course, if Davis goes really down-down, there is a problem, but that is true for any team losing their best player.

The bench:

C: Daniel Gafford
PF: P.J. Washington
SF: Naji Marshall
SG: Max Christie
PG: Dante Exum


+Jaden Hardy, Brandon Williams, Caleb Martin, and Dwight Powell

Bench is not the problem, problem will be creating against serious team, OKC last night was nearer to summer league than anything else. I honestly don't understand what is the point of preparation games, if half of teams are not playing their best players? You would imagine they want to train offensive and defensive system, but they rather play rotations you will never see in RS.

Yes, I totally agree. I think preseason is about running schemes. With that said, a lot of players are trying to make the NBA. So the energy and intensity are mostly there, but not the skill. Like some of the players in the preseason looks like they are playing in the finals because those 10minutes they get can be worth a contract of a million or two.

The Mavs are supposed to run a more Kings-like offense with the big man screening and passing, and wings doing backdoors and similar. Like a lot of motion. We saw some of that today.

I guess OKC doesn't need any preparation because they will play exactly like last year. Problem is that 1 team not taking game seriously means other team can't get much out of it too.

[Ice Man]

He was great. He plays like a 10-year NBA veteran. He will instantly make any NBA team better, which can be said of almost no other 18 year old in NBA history.

Yeah he will sometimes get punished for those spin moves into traffic, when he plays a real team rather than OKC's quasi summer-league squad from last night. His interior scoring remains a work in progress. But the rest of his game is already NBA elite.

[SkyHook]

What's not to like. Mavs got a winner in this kid.

[Clav]

He had a great game for limited minutes and 1st preseason action. Its looking like Davis/Flagg combo will switch and cause issues, but Flagg can also lock down on the wing. Overall I was left impressed, but that's been the case since the first time I saw a Flagg game lol. He'll be an amazing player and even though he missed a couple easy looks, that is nothing to worry about. Dallas was up huge in the first half when he played, he locked down OKC many times.

Also, I have to say from OKC's standpoint (why was OKC on a preseason b2b??) - our 2nd/3rd string didn't give you guys an honorable 1st Half of basketball. Thunder morphed into a 'your-turn, my-turn' shooting 3s and missing 3's competition for a wide stretch of Q1 and Q2 [in some part bc AD/Flagg/Lively shut down the paint]. Our team needs to do better to make it a competitive match, Mavs did exactly what they needed to.

[Optms]

Been calling this kid the White Lebron for a hot minute now.

All those AK47 or Tatum comparisons were a joke. Only LeBron was this polished coming in.

[AmusingFiddle]

Looking like a Young Dirk...except more athletic and smooth. He will be a handful for opponents. This is VERY premature but if Dallas is healthy...WATCHOUT.

[Exp0sed]

Yeah, this kid is special

Dallas will be in the playoffs if they can stay healthy,as Flagg will be a big net positive contributor right off the gate

He looked even better than advertised

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[dirkdiggler4177]

Looking like a Young Dirk...except more athletic and smooth. He will be a handful for opponents. This is VERY premature but if Dallas is healthy...WATCHOUT.

Why Dirk? He seems to be much closer to a mix between Kawhi Leonard and Julius Randle. Dirk seems a bit odd; he was a very mobile 7-footer who could shoot. Flagg's strength is not shooting, but rather something he needs to work the most on, but attacking, motor, defense, and some passing. For me, they seem the opposite.

[Mavrelous]

He refused to give up the ball despite being pressured full court by Cason Wallace, his handle looks more advanced than thought before.

[ryan in Maine]

He refused to give up the ball despite being pressured full court by Cason Wallace, his handle looks more advanced than thought before.

I've seen him play from pretty up close and i concur.

[zimpy27]

Gives me modern game Garnett vibes honestly.
Will see if he gets as good as he was.

[Wolfgang630]

Looking like a Young Dirk...except more athletic and smooth. He will be a handful for opponents. This is VERY premature but if Dallas is healthy...WATCHOUT.

A young Dirk? What….