The West is in first place! Flagg failed to level up, how should the Mavericks adjust?

In the regular season, the Mavericks lost to the Pelicans 99-101.

Before the start of this game, the Mavericks ranked 14th in the Western Conference with 2 wins and 5 losses, and the Pelicans ranked 15th in the Western Conference with 1 win and 6 losses. After the Mavericks lost, they successfully replaced the Pelicans and became the new last place in the Western Conference.

What needs to be said is that neither Big Eyebrow nor Lively played in this game, but don't forget that the opposite Pelicans also gave up Zion and Poole. As a result, the Mavericks trailed for most of the game, falling behind by 13 points at most.

Obviously, this is a surprising situation. You must know that before the start of the game, the Mavericks were once regarded as a dark horse candidate in the Western Conference. Even if Irving cannot play, they still have Big Eyebrow, Flagg, PJ Washington, Lively, Gafford, Christie, Thompson, and Marshall. The strength of the lineup is definitely not bad. As a result, after two weeks of playing, they were directly at the bottom of the Western Conference.

The injury to Big Eyebrow is definitely a factor, but what you need to know is that long before Big Eyebrow was injured, the Mavericks with almost the entire lineup (Liveley was also present, except for Irving) defeated the Spurs by 33 points, and couldn't even beat the Eastern Conference underdog Wizards, losing by 10 points.

The Lone Ranger currently has many problems, one of which is the use of Flagg. This not only makes the Lone Ranger uncomfortable, but also makes people have some doubts about Flagg.

Take this game as an example. Flagg played for 35 minutes, shooting 8 of 19 shots, 1 of 5 three-pointers, 3 of 3 free throws, and scored 20 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

This field cause Starting for Russell and replacing Thompson, Flagg finally did not have to be a point guard for a long time. Returning to the forward, he showed a certain influence on the defensive end. He also finished well inside and even had an alley-oop dunk that knocked Matkovic to the ground.

But Flagg's shortcomings are also relatively obvious. Currently, he is still practicing shooting. He has no three-pointers and mid-range. His ability to break out points also needs to be strengthened. In fact, the chance of the final kill was not bad, but it was a pity that the throw failed.

20 points on 19 shots may not be ideal, but objectively speaking, this game is really good. Before this, Kidd practiced Flagg's point guard skills. He played 98% of the time as a guard, and 41% of the time as a point guard, but the result was really not ideal.

Before this game, Flagg's statistics were: 32.7 minutes per game, 13.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.4 blocks, 2.1 turnovers, 38.8% field goal percentage, 30.8% three-point shooting percentage, and a true shooting percentage of only 50. 4%

Flagg's performance in some games is indeed worthy of recognition, such as the two winning games:

- Against the Raptors, 8 of 14 shots, 18 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists

- Against the Pacers, 6 of 11 shots , got 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists

But in the game after these two games, Flagg pulled it all:

- against the Thunder, 1 of 9 shots, 2 points, 2 rebounds and 0 assists

- against the Pistons, 3 of 14 shots, 16 points and 8 rebounds 4 assists

Flagg has excellent physical talent, but it may be because he has just entered the NBA and is relatively young. He has not yet shown an advantage in confrontation. In the first 7 games, he made a total of 22 of 40 within 5 feet of the basket, and his finishing at the basket can continue to improve.

As a point guard, Flagg's passing vision and choices are actually good, but the main problem is that his current movement control skills are not up to standard, and he does not have the ability to initiate pick-and-rolls with the ball.

To sum up Flagg's performance so far in one word, it is rough. Of course, this is also expected, because Flagg's original selection as the No. 1 pick was not based on his luck control. On the contrary, launching offense with the ball and controlling luck are his weaknesses, while defense and finishing are his strengths.

This is one of the things that Kidd has been questioned about in the past few games. Before taking advantage of Flagg's advantages, he rushed to get the duck on the shelf. Is it a bit too hasty to let Flagg train as a point guard?

At least this is what the statistics look like, the first 7 games:

- When Flagg was on the court, the Mavericks scored 98.8 points per 100 possessions, the team's true shooting percentage was 54%, and their opponents had a net loss of 14.0 points.

- Without Flagg on the court, the Mavericks scored 108 points per 100 possessions. 5 points, the team's true shooting percentage is 57.8%, and the opponent's net advantage is 8.0 points

Seeing the above data, you can probably understand why there have been constant doubts about Flagg since the start of the game (especially VJ's performance has been so explosive). At the same time, this may also be the reason why Kidd finally changed his formation and allowed Flagg to return to the front line.

Of course, the Mavericks' problem is not just Flagg, but also the collective downturn of role players, including PJ, Thompson, Russell, Brandon Williams and others, whose shooting has declined.

In terms of statistics, the Mavericks' current three-point shooting percentage of the team is only 31.5%, which is second to last in the league, and their average score of 106.3 points is last in the league. With this level of three-pointers and offense in this era, it is not surprising that the record is last in the Western Conference.

Regarding the Mavericks, I personally feel that Kidd is a little anxious to start the game. There is a feeling that he would rather sacrifice the record to let the whole team grow up with Flagg.

This starting point is actually not a bad one. The problem is that Flagg can’t keep up yet. Instead of forcing him to level up, it’s better to wait for him to take advantage of his own advantages. The new lineup will be run in normally first. When Lively and Nongmei come back, they will definitely not be able to attack at this level..

But Thompson, Russell, Washington, Marshall and others really need to find their touch. Only when these players recover can the Mavericks' offensive level truly improve.

As for Flagg, he definitely has talent. He is also very young. He is very humble on and off the court. He has no negative news yet. He is a good young man. But perhaps due to skin color, nationality, ancestry, and a bit of over-marketing, his current performance is a bit lower than expected.

In fact, even All-Star No. 1 picks such as Cunningham and Banqueiro took some time to adapt after entering the NBA. Flagg has only played 8 games now. It will not be too late to wait and see after half a season. I look forward to Flagg's growth, and at the same time, let's see how Kidd adjusts this team.