Dallas Mavericks head coach Dusty May praised Cooper Flagg’s court vision and decision-making after the reigning Rookie of the Year recorded 25 points and a career-high 12 assists in Sunday’s 130-93 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
“Just making the right decisions,” May said about Flagg’s playmaking. “You know, that’s one thing that with Coop, you can play over the top of the defense.”
May also pointed to Dallas’ familiarity with Brooklyn’s defensive system as an advantage for Flagg.
“They play our almost identical system defensively. And so we’ve seen it every day in practice,” he explained. “So we’re more equipped to attack it that early in the season better than we would be some other defenses we haven’t seen in practice.”
The Mavericks coach added that Flagg’s vision and unselfishness make him a consistent playmaking threat.
“But just his core vision, his unselfishness, you know, lend itself to him having a lot of games like this,” May said.
Flagg also made an immediate impact as a scorer, collecting 14 points in the first quarter. He finished with 8-of-13 shooting, three three-pointers, five rebounds and three turnovers in 28 minutes.
“Yeah, he made some really, really nice plays, good decisions, and then I thought the shot-clock three was big for him,” May said. “Made a really nice individual play and banged it in.”
May also highlighted Flagg’s work on the glass, despite finishing with five rebounds.
“I thought he had several just rebounds in traffic that they weren’t 50/50 balls, maybe 40/60 or 30/70,” he said. “And I thought he was up battling and attempting a couple to his teammates and he didn’t get the stat, but I thought he was mixing it up on the glass as well tonight as he has all year.”
Flagg recorded his third consecutive double-double and fourth of the season. May said the 19-year-old was continuing to develop as a passer.
“I was shocked at how good of a passer he was and what type of court vision,” the coach said. “So he’s just getting incrementally better. He’s putting in the time. I think his processes are improving.”
May also acknowledged that Flagg will not produce at the same level every night.
“He’s not always going to play great each and every night, but he’s such a competitor. He’s going to play hard,” May said. “And, you know, majority of the games he’s going to be able to perform like he did tonight.”
Dallas shot a season-best 57.1% from the field and recorded a season-high 130 points. Kyrie Irving added 21 points, while Daniel Gafford scored 18 on 7-of-8 shooting.
May credited Gafford’s screening and finishing, particularly as Flagg and Irving draw defensive attention.
“Gaff is stringing together some really productive games,” he said. “Him being able to set good screens and get behind the defense both were impressive.”
The coach also praised Gafford’s ability to finish through contact.
“His finishing around the rim is a weapon that we really need,” May added.
May said Irving’s presence creates more room for teammates, while P.J. Washington’s shooting also helps stretch opposing defenses.
“When Kai’s playing as well as he is, you know, that takes basically a help-side defender away and makes those gaps and holes even bigger for Gaff and PJ,” he explained. “It all goes hand in hand. We just got to continue to take what the game gives us.”
The Mavericks held Brooklyn to 93 points, with May particularly pleased by their defensive discipline.
“I thought we had graded an A-minus, B-plus on our scout report discipline,” he said. “I thought tonight we had good discipline. I thought we were active. I thought our hand activity and communication was as good as it’s been.”
Dallas improved to 6-4 and will host the Indiana Pacers on Monday, November 9.
