SL Game 2: DAL vs SA @ 3:00cst on ESPN

[Kidnova]

Im very happy to sit Flagg now. No reason to continue playing him today or rest of summer league

I know the risk of injury is always out there, but CF is so young I think every minute he can spend out there is improving his game.  I want them to play him as much as they can.

[SleepingHero]

Flagg's 2nd summer league game:

31pts. 4rbds, 1ast 10-20 from the field.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Impressive showing, but nobody can score besides CF, he has half of their points. After 21 pts the 1st game, Nembhard has 2 pts.

[Smitty]

Flagg is obviously going to be a big positive off-ball year 1. He’s already NBA-level as a secondary creator. I like that the Mavs had him on-ball more in SL. It will only make him better. Overall, he’s legit. That’s all I needed to see. Rest up big fella.

[ThisIStheYear]

Im very happy to sit Flagg now. No reason to continue playing him today or rest of summer league

He seems like the type to insist on playing until his team is eliminated.

[Kidnova]

Flagg is obviously going to be a big positive off-ball year 1. He’s already NBA-level as a secondary creator. I like that the Mavs had him on-ball more in SL. It will only make him better. Overall, he’s legit. That’s all I needed to see. Rest up big fella.

Yeah, I don't think he'll be playing a lot of point forward to start the season.  Obviously this is still a tiny sample size, but he's going to struggle some against NBA players if he's consistently the primary ball handler.  I expect that will be less of a problem as he progresses, but early on he will be limited in that role.

[hakeemfaan]

Flagg is obviously going to be a big positive off-ball year 1. He’s already NBA-level as a secondary creator. I like that the Mavs had him on-ball more in SL. It will only make him better. Overall, he’s legit. That’s all I needed to see. Rest up big fella.

I hope he doesn’t play anymore summer league ball. However I do hope he plays a ton of point forward this year even if he has to go through some pains.  Apart from setting him up better it also lets him address gaps in his fitness with that level of responsibility.

[Winter]

Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrimdhbZctU

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Agree with everyone above me. That's what I've been trying to say.

Is this going to be a gap year to develop Flagg's offensive game? Take some Ls but give him the ball and let him develop.

Or are you really trying to win with Dangelo Russell as the #1 playmaker?

[Smitty]

Agree with everyone above me.    That's what I've been trying to say.

Is this going to be a gap year to develop Flagg's offensive game?  Take some Ls but give him the ball and let him develop.  I think so.

Or are you really trying to win with Dangelo Russell as the #1 playmaker?

Probably a bit of both.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

I think it's very likely to be a gap year.

I don't think you can go into the season with a roster this unbalanced if your primary goal is to win this year.

[KillerLeft]

I think it's very likely to be a gap year.

I don't think you can go into the season with a roster this unbalanced if your primary goal is to win this year.

I agree. 

But, it's worth noting that many of the smart people here don't agree that the roster is unbalanced, despite our strong opinion that it is. Since we know, almost to a certainty, that the Mavs are trying to win (at least they'll start the year with that goal), we must conclude that they also don't think the roster is unbalanced. I'm willing to give it to Christmas Day or so to see if there's something about how all this fits together that I'm missing, and if we're right, Idk...something about the addition of Frank Vogel has me feeling more confident that they'll figure it out and make adjustments. I don't know why that calms me so much, but it does.

EDIT: Also, we could see a Gafford or PJW trade literally any day now that makes this all lock into place the way you and I would think makes sense. We won't even know what they think until the season starts.

[hakeemfaan]

I am thinking with Kyrie out for a long time , if not the whole season, there will be no choice but to ask Cooper to play more of the creator role. So I don’t think the Mavs have a choice. D’Angelo is more of a shot creator for himself. Brandon Williams , who knows. Exum is not a facilitator either. Neither is Klay. Am I missing anyone?

[KillerLeft]

I am thinking with Kyrie out for a long time , if not the whole season, there will be no choice but to ask Cooper to play more of the creator role. So I don’t think the Mavs have a choice. D’Angelo is more of a shot creator for himself.  Brandon Williams , who knows. Exum is not a facilitator either.  Neither is Klay Am Inmissing anyone?

You're not missing anyone, but...I think you're going to be surprised by Russell's play if you think he can create for himself more than others. I'm almost convinced the opposite is true. It's just that he hasn't been put into that position for a while. I think he's better at it than Kyrie, even. That's not me predicting he'll have a great season, necessarily, but I do think this is the right time, place and role to take a chance on him with.

[SleepingHero]

Agree with everyone above me.    That's what I've been trying to say.

Is this going to be a gap year to develop Flagg's offensive game?  Take some Ls but give him the ball and let him develop. 

Or are you really trying to win with Dangelo Russell as the #1 playmaker?

I mean lets take a best case scenario for DLo.

That type of DLo was an all-star and averaged 22/8 on good efficiency and passing and gave the Nets their first playoff berth in 4 years.If we're getting anything close to that version of Russell (which is a lot to ask for), then this team is crazy strong. 50+ wins type strong and probably a top 4 team in the West.

If Russell is more closer to the worst case scenario, then this is slightly better than a .500 team and will probably be around 42 wins just given AD's availability and Kyrie's return. That means Flagg will be given a lot of chances to handle and create. I don't think 42 wins is even close to a playoff berth in the West, but it's not a bad scenario that we've let Flagg develop all year while remaining somewhat competitive. 

If DLo is closer to the midpoint between these extremes, then we're probably close to 45-48 wins and that's also great for Flagg's development as he will be playing huge minutes on a playoff caliber team in year 1.

[KillerLeft]

I am REALLY high on the Russell signing. I might be slurpin' a big vat full of Mavs-flavored kool Ade. We'll see. But, I've loosely followed him pretty consistently, including a couple of deep dives at various points in his career, and he can PASS. He's quite a good pick and roll guy, too (the best on this team, by far - MUCH better than Kyrie), so in a way, having him here makes the Gafford deal look better to me.

[hakeemfaan]

You're not missing anyone, but...I think you're going to be surprised by Russell's play if you think he can create for himself more than others. I'm almost convinced the opposite is true. It's just that he hasn't been put into that position for a while. I think he's better at it than Kyrie, even. That's not me predicting he'll have a great season, necessarily, but I do think this is the right time, place and role to take a chance on him with.

I have always loved his game even though his mental lack of focus never allowed him to be a true star. He will create for others but he is not a pure PG. He will need help. On this roster I don’t see that help coming from many other places  until Kyrie is back. Also for someone who gets criticized a lot for his fitness, many folks don’t understand the level of stamina that Luka has to keep going at defenses the whole game while being the primary ball handler. Players who are not used to that soon realize the stamina it takes for that. D’Angelo will need help.

[KillerLeft]

Players who are not used to that soon realize the stamina it takes for that. D’Angelo will need help.

This is an excellent point.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

I agree. 

But, it's worth noting that many of the smart people here don't agree that the roster is unbalanced, despite our strong opinion that it is. Since we know, almost to a certainty, that the Mavs are trying to win (at least they'll start the year with that goal), we must conclude that they also don't think the roster is unbalanced. I'm willing to give it to Christmas Day or so to see if there's something about how all this fits together that I'm missing, and if we're right, Idk...something about the addition of Frank Vogel has me feeling more confident that they'll figure it out and make adjustments. I don't know why that calms me so much, but it does.

EDIT: Also, we could see a Gafford or PJW trade literally any day now that makes this all lock into place the way you and I would think makes sense. We won't even know what they think until the season starts.

I'm not so sure on the bolded part.  I think they're saying all the right things.  They're not going to say it's a gap year.

The recent tea leaves on Kyrie seem to suggest...hey if we're still in the playoff picture, he'll be back in February.  Otherwise, we'll tell him to take it easy.

[mvossman]

You're not missing anyone, but...I think you're going to be surprised by Russell's play if you think he can create for himself more than others. I'm almost convinced the opposite is true. It's just that he hasn't been put into that position for a while. I think he's better at it than Kyrie, even. That's not me predicting he'll have a great season, necessarily, but I do think this is the right time, place and role to take a chance on him with.

And price.