Game 31: Dallas Mavericks (11-19) vs. Denver Nuggets (21-7) | 7:00pm CST

[Winter]

I'm curious how we'd compare Luka as an 18 year old (the year before his rookie NBA season) to Flagg as an 18 year old.  

Year older Luka put up some pretty impressive numbers as a rookie at 21.2/7.8/6.0.  He put up 16.5 shots a game and was .427 from the field and .327 from three.  

December Flagg (10 games) is 24.1/6.2/4.5.  He has put up 16.9 shots a game and is .527 from the field and .308 from three.

I'd say it is pretty obvious Flagg is the better defender.  I'd probably buy the argument that Luka's offensive ceiling is higher (easy to do since Luka's ceiling is a proven concept).  I don't envision Flagg as a 30 point scorer, but watching those FOUR made three's made me question that.  He gets shots in the paint at will with zero spacing.  Add some spacing and give him a slightly above league average three point percentage and who knows where this thing goes.

Comparing the two is a little strange - but I agree with the above.

What makes it strange is that Flagg really hasn't fully bought the idea that's he's the big dog. I'm guessing he feels he doesn't deserve it yet. He's really all about the team. He's not naturally the initiator of the offense the way Luka is. Luka massaged every offensive play, and was almost a savant on offense. He wasn't a complete floor general at first, but he wanted the ball. Flagg makes up for his lack of touches on offense by being a stud on defense. 

I suspect Flagg's scoring will creep northward as his 3-point shooting improves. At that point his impact on the team becomes more on par with Luka - it just not singularly slanted toward the offense. He needs better perimeter players and more motion surrounding him on offense, but he's going be the team's floor general before the year is up. Building this team around him will be fun.