Game 13: LAC (3-8) @ DAL (3-9) 7:30 PM CT

[KillerLeft]

Killer...I totally hope Cooper is not just better than Wiggins, but that he becomes a generational player. I'm just trying to keep the hype train down because to me it's very unfair, especially when someone is not a natural scorer.  I'm just saying if he becomes a more aggressive Wiggins (note that is not saying Wiggins as we know him is the benchmark, because Wiggins as we know him and a more aggressive version of Wiggins are different players), I'll be extremely happy.  Of course, my wish is for him to become much much more.

Well, that's what I'm saying, though. I actually think he IS a natural scorer, just not a natural PG. It has been like 10 years since we've seen Dirk at his peak around here, and I think a lot of the fan base has forgotten what's involved in getting a "scorer" like that involved in the offense. Even before Luka, they were trying to make the PG's into score first guys, and I kind of get why Kidd (or Harrison?) would want to try that with Flagg right out of the gate. PG or not, he's going to need an on-ball component to his game to thrive in the modern NBA, obviously. 

When you say he's not a natural scorer, you might mean he's not great with a live dribble above the break and a lot of time on the shot clock. If that's what you mean, I agree, but I think he'll get better. But, you also might mean that he's not super aggressive when the ball gets to him later in the possession, after a couple of other guys have touched it, and if so, I vehemently disagree with that. In that situation, I've seen a kid who's super aggressive looking to score and unafraid to go at anyone. Maybe you mean that he's not great at making himself available in the right spots to receive the ball at that point, but if so, I'd refer you to point #1 about Dirk and suggest that maybe that particular shortcoming should be shared by his teammates and even the offensive system. 

It's certainly true that he's got a way to go in terms of shotmaking, which has been hit and miss in bigger moments, but I'm officially and publicly not worried about that in the least.

I think it was unfair of people to expect him to have the impact of year 2 Luka right away (even Luka in year 1 didn't really impact winning), and I don't think that unfair expectation was mitigated or helped at all by throwing Flagg out there as a PG for the first 5-6 games (maybe that will make sense eventually, but not now), but ever since that ended I've been super thrilled by his progress.