Cooper Flagg supplied 26 points and 12 rebounds in Dallas’ preseason finale. The Mavericks still lost 135-111. His Tuesday comments about working with Kyrie Irving offer a useful way to move beyond the gap between an impressive individual line and a functioning team.
Flagg’s Tuesday assessment placed the Mavericks’ most anticipated pairing in a more useful frame: he and Irving are still learning how to play off each other and create advantages together. That sounds less glamorous than instant star power, but it is the proper assignment as Dallas opens its season against Houston on Wednesday. Chemistry is not a souvenir collected at the first shared tipoff.
It is a series of decisions made correctly, then repeated when the defense becomes inconvenient.
The need for that work is clearer after Dallas finished the exhibitions 1-3. Flagg produced 26 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in 30 minutes during the 135-111 defeat by Atlanta. Those numbers describe a substantial individual night.
They do not explain away a heavy defeat, and they do not demonstrate that the Mavericks have already figured out how to organize their offense around two high-level creators.
Flagg’s larger body of work gives Dallas plenty to build around. His Rookie of the Year season spanned 70 games, with averages of 4.5 assists, 21.0 points and 6.7 rebounds. The next question is less whether he can fill a box score than whether his strengths fit possessions in which Irving is also drawing defensive attention.
Dallas needs the second advantage in the sequence—the pass, cut or attack that follows the first opening—rather than another possession ending with one star asked to solve everything alone.
The Tuesday discussion also supplied a concrete shooting target. Flagg described offseason repetition that has made him more comfortable taking open three-pointers when defenders give him room. He made 29.5% of those attempts as a rookie, so the decision to take the shot matters before any larger claim about improvement.
Repetition can make an open look feel more natural; it does not create a new percentage by declaration. In a lineup with Irving, that willingness may matter because the defense will have another reason to hesitate, but the result still has to be earned possession by possession.
Dallas is trying to build those habits while preparing for an opponent that can expose loose ones. Coach Dusty May estimated Tuesday’s preparation at roughly 80-85% devoted to Dallas and 15-20% to Houston, a shift from the heavier team-focused work of the previous week. That balance is sensible.
