Game 21: Dallas Mavericks (5-15) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (5-14) | 9:00pm

[Chicagojk]

Boy do the Clippers look like a lost cause.  Wow...what a disaster of a season.   What are their options for this year?

I thought Williams was very good.  The Clippers had no chance of staying in front of him, but Williams also made some nice drive and kick plays.   Klay was also very good.  I am really rooting for him.  He has been nothing but a pro here.   It is great to see how confident Cooper already looks in crunch times of close games.   So impressive for a 18 year old.

[DanSchwartzgan]

It is great to see how confident Cooper already looks in crunch times of close games.   So impressive for a 18 year old.

I was listening to a podcast on rookies the other day and they said Cooper is shooting almost 80% inside 3 feet, but the amazing part of that is only 38% of those shots were assisted.  His 3% has been rough, but they had his pull-up three rate at 35%.  What kills him is his rate on C&S three’s is about 18%.  Seems like that would be the easiest thing to fix (which would make his driving game even more effective).

[FireNicoHarrison]

Coop is special and a God bless for this team.

Honestly i don't care about Ws or Ls, draft or trades right now.

[meistermatze]

Flagg is amazing. Already one of the most versatile and best all-around-players in the league. I think in a year or two, he's at least the perfect complementary star for every team, maybe even the guy himself. He needs a 3-point shot as well for that. If that comes, he is going to be a superstar.

I also like our new starting lineup with Nembhard. He looks like an actual NBA player and is our only traditional PG. B-Will as a spark off the bench is nice, but he can't run an offense. So stick with Nembhard, he also fits Coops timeline. Honestly: You can trade away everbody not names Flagg, Christie and Nembhard and build around that. In a perfect world, Lively could stay healthy and be our second central building block but I have given up hope on him every staying healthy.

We willl keep losing a bunch of games but it is fun watching those guys grow.

Unfortunately, this team with a healthy AD will actually be way too good to tank.

[Winter]

Flagg is amazing. Already one of the most versatile and best all-around-players in the league. I think in a year or two, he's at least the perfect complementary star for every team, maybe even the guy himself. He needs a 3-point shot as well for that. If that comes, he is going to be a superstar.

I also like our new starting lineup with Nembhard. He looks like an actual NBA player and is our only traditional PG. B-Will as a spark off the bench is nice, but he can't run an offense. So stick with Nembhard, he also fits Coops timeline. Honestly: You can trade away everbody not names Flagg, Christie and Nembhard and build around that. In a perfect world, Lively could stay healthy and be our second central building block but I have given up hope on him every staying healthy.

We willl keep losing a bunch of games but it is fun watching those guys grow.

Unfortunately, this team with a healthy AD will actually be way too good to tank.

Someone said Nembhard reminded them of Brunson, but his game reminds me a little more of JJ Barea. However, Nembhard's stat line is much better than JJ's rookie year, and are more like Brunson's rookie year.

Nembhard is not the shooter Brunson is, but Brunson didn't sharpen his skills there until a little later. Nembhard will get better at shooting, and Nembhard already seems like a better floor general and assist guy than either of the other two did in their rookie seasons.

I don't expect Nembhard to turn into Brunson - I think Brunson's ability to score a bucket won't ever be replicated by Nembhard. But if Nembhard progresses like either of those other two players, theres easily 20 mpg for him on this team.

[meistermatze]

I agree. I don't know about his defense going forward, because he is super tiny but then again, his brother seems to do just fine on that end, even being undersized as well (but not that much). But at least he could have a DJ Augustin type of a career. Hopefully more.

[Mavs2021]

I want someone to love me as much as you love Hardy.

That´s just common sense. You have a guy that scored 17 points in a quarter on the 30th ranked offense in the league and you give preference to a guy that can literally score as much in the NBA as the forum members. And I know that´s dumb sh*t fans says, but in this case it might be true.

[mvossman]

I like that every game they win is either because Flagg went off in the 4th quarter or because he went off all game.

Is it a coincidence that his best game is when PJ is out? He seems best offensively at the 4. Both he and PJ are better when the other is off the court. Its clear that playing next to two centers makes no sense for him.

[RGP1981]

This was not a smart game to win. Simultaneously reducing the Mavs' chances at a better lottery pick... while improving the OKC Thunder's chances at a better lottery pick, when they are already so dominant and have so many assets.

[Chicagojk]

I didn’t even think Nembhard had a good game last night. Still I would prefer to watch that the. The once a week 8 three point made game by DLO. I think Nembhard will have his ups and downs but I think he is going to give you the best chance to make real evaluations of a lot of the players on the team. I think him and Williams can give you ok point guard play most nights. This team was drowning without it. I like Nembhard better than Williams but it will be good for both to get a lot of playing time. Is DLO done or will he get more chances?

[Chicagojk]

I like that every game they win is either because Flagg went off in the 4th quarter or because he went off all game.

Is it a coincidence that his best game is when PJ is out?  He seems best offensively at the 4. Both he and PJ are better when the other is off the court.  Its clear that playing next to two centers makes no sense for him.

Something to watch.  I like PJ.  I am just not a fan when he tries to do too much.

With Flagg, I think the Boston Celtics type of roster is the one we need to look at moving forward.  Maybe not exactly but having Flagg takes care of the hardest part.   Still need to get lucky on that wing running mate.

[Mavs2021]

I like that every game they win is either because Flagg went off in the 4th quarter or because he went off all game.

Is it a coincidence that his best game is when PJ is out?  He seems best offensively at the 4. Both he and PJ are better when the other is off the court.  Its clear that playing next to two centers makes no sense for him.

I think it had nothing to do with Washington, and everything to do with Los Angeles. It was a lay-up lane for Cooper. The Clippers are the 28th ranked defense for a reason and that´s with DJJ playing 13 games and not on a B2B. I called this a scheduled win before the Mavs decided to rest nearly everybody. The Mavs still managed to win.

[JamesConway912]

The race to the bottom is completely out of control right now. You basically loose multiple draft spots every single time you win a game. Indy is on pace to win 16 games and there are still three teams worse than them.

Mavs need to loose the next four (all against good teams) before they face Brooklyn and Utah given that both those games should be very difficult to loose. Steal one of the next four and you might look at a draft position around #8-10 over christmas.

It sucks that it is that way but it’s important that they go on a bad run for a while.

[windjc]

Can we please ban anyone who said Flagg was average after the 18 year old played 8 games?

Like I think we have an obligation to maintain at least a standard of midline IQ on this board. For basic quality control and user ability standards.

[windjc]

Flagg is going to better than LeBron. This statement is about 500% more correct than anyone who said Flagg’s upside is a good roster player.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Is it a coincidence that his best game is when PJ is out? He seems best offensively at the 4. Both he and PJ are better when the other is off the court. Its clear that playing next to two centers makes no sense for him.

Something to watch.  I like PJ.  I am just not a fan when he tries to do too much.

With Flagg, I think the Boston Celtics type of roster is the one we need to look at moving forward.  Maybe not exactly but having Flagg takes care of the hardest part.   Still need to get lucky on that wing running mate.

Yesss....yesss.

Flagg is a 4. PJ is also a 4. While they are both versatile players, I don't think a lineup with those two together + a traditional center works.

[Winter]

The race to the bottom is completely out of control right now. You basically loose multiple draft spots every single time you win a game. Indy is on pace to win 16 games and there are still three teams worse than them.

Mavs need to loose the next four (all against good teams) before they face Brooklyn and Utah given that both those games should be very difficult to loose. Steal one of the next four and you might look at a draft position around #8-10 over christmas.

It sucks that it is that way but it’s important that they go on a bad run for a while.

I don't see any way the Mavs are even in the top 10 of the lottery. Kyrie is coming back, and the Mavs really want AD to play well going forward. It's just very unlikely. There are too many really bad teams, and the Mavs have talent.

I think the Mavs have a better chance of trading into the top of the lottery or acquiring a good pick before the lottery than they do just trying to tank. Many of these teams below us aren't trying to tank .... they're just that bad organically.

[BigDirk41]

I've felt like for weeks that PJ is stunting the growth of Flagg because he thinks he's the man for some reason when AD is out. After seeing Flagg play a full game without PJ, I'm convinced PJ is holding Flagg back. Either Kidd needs to put PJ in his place and tell him that he's the 3rd option behind AD and Flagg or he needs to be moved for assets. I like PJ a lot and he was probably my 2nd favorite Mav during the Luka years, but this is now the Flagg era and his growth comes first. Flagg needs to be the starting 4. There is no reason for PJ to lead the team in shot attempts, but he does so regularly.

[Winter]

I've felt like for weeks that PJ is stunting the growth of Flagg because he thinks he's the man for some reason when AD is out. After seeing Flagg play a full game without PJ, I'm convinced PJ is holding Flagg back. Either Kidd needs to put PJ in his place and tell him that he's the 3rd option behind AD and Flagg or he needs to be moved for assets. I like PJ a lot and he was probably my 2nd favorite Mav during the Luka years, but this is now the Flagg era and his growth comes first. Flagg needs to be the starting 4. There is no reason for PJ to lead the team in shot attempts, but he does so regularly.

I think much of that is Flagg deferring to others. It appears to me Kidd has told him that he's really good in the paint, and when he gets in there don't look to pass on the wings unless you're double teamed or it's crowded. The percentage of him shooting inside the paint is better than almost anyone else outside the paint. He needs to be better at making defensive reads, but we can see that I think.

He just needs to be taking more shots and maybe taking 2-3 shots away from people like PJ or Naji or some other players. He needs to be the man the second half of this season. The "man" sounds pretty strange in this context. The kid can barely grow a moustache.