Before facing the Thunder, Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis pair up

Difficult with Anthony Davis to know how long his return to competition will take. But the Mavericks’ interior has been rebounding over the past three outings. And all of Dallas is doing better, with three consecutive victories, the last two with “AD” on the floor against Denver etc Miami. It is undoubtedly no coincidence that, at the same time, Cooper Flagg he also finds his cruising speed.

The sample is limited for now. But the Mavs’ star duo — pending a possible recovery from Kyrie Irving — is starting to take shape after nearly a month away from the inside. This is especially true for the first pick in the last draft, who is averaging 19.7 points in the last three games played with his All-Star teammate, but mostly with a 55.8% shooting percentage.

« It’s obviously a lot easier when he’s there » certified by Cooper Flagg after the victory against Vrućin. ” Between him and Klay Thompson, the force those two guys have on defense and the space it creates, that’s huge for me. It is a pleasure for me to play with him. ‘AD’ is an amazing player. He just makes the right choices. He is so easy to play without the ball. It’s nice to be on the field with him. »

From the worst attack to the next

Pleasant yes, but also profitable. The Mavericks seem to have started the season this week with their three straight wins, the last two in style. And Jason Kidd seems to have found the right formula, with Ryan Nembhardt, another great guy in this beautiful seriesin leadership, but primarily with Anthony Davis as the only true interior, and Cooper Flagg in a hybrid role of “forward”, more wing on offense, more winger on defense on assists near the circle. In this configuration, the Mavericks have been transformed offensively with UN “Attack Rating” of 122.1 (only the Nuggets have done better since the start of the season), a huge jump from their league-worst 107.6 average in 2025/26.

Anthony Davis is no stranger to this just because of his talent. But its presence also opens up possibilities for the Cooper Flag’s space-guzzling qualities. And when it’s not the Duke alum who benefits individually, it’s the better team players who benefit from better positions. Going 16/31 and 16/32 on 3-pointers against Denver and Miami, Dallas just signed its two best outside shots of the season.

A sector that Cooper Flag no longer needs to rely on, or even force, to express his game.

« The most important thing in this league is attacking the rim and being able to create plays ” said Jason Kidd at the press conference. « Points in the paint, free throws, then 3-point shots, in that order. Cooper has the ability to shoot three-pointers. But when you can play to your strengths in this league, you can be very successful. And I think Cooper is getting mid-range positions, he’s able to attack the rim and get shots. If you do this consistently, you can become a top NBA player. »

Before it does, it’s already allowing Dallas to find a way to win, even in tight games like the one against the Heat on Wednesday. While Miami reduced the deficit from -17 to -4 (110-106) with less than three minutes to go, the duo of Anthony Davis – Cooper Flagg took care of everything:

– Davis basket at middle distance (112-106)
– good challenge from Davies on Andrew Wiggins’ breakthrough
– Flagg basket at medium distance (114-106)
– counter from Flagg on Wiggins and takedown from Davis
– layup by Flagg, serve by Davis (116-106)
– alley-oop concluded by Davis (118-108)
– a putback from Davis with 47 seconds left to seal the Heat’s last hope

« Cooper didn’t have two stars (Davis and Irving) on ​​the court, so he had to put up with the opposition’s best defender on the wings, and I thought he did an outstanding job» remarked Jason Kidd of his rookie’s handling at the end of the match, who had already shown impressive maturity in the face of pressure. ” You will need to put your best defender on someone, most of the time it will be on ‘AD’. So Flagg has a secondary defender on him, and he can play without the ball around Anthony in the offense, he doesn’t have to do everything like he did at the beginning of the season, although he wasn’t afraid of it. Now he has help. »

Cooper Flagg scores on one end, gets a block on the other, then hits a layup in traffic for an impressive stretch late in the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat pic.twitter.com/i4Ij7GkzMn

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) December 4, 2025

And now the OKC test

Anthony Davis is still not back to his best. But his 32 points and 13 rebounds against the Nuggetsthen a big double-double of 17 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks against Miami is pointing in the right direction.

« He looked very good » confirmed Jason Kidd after the match against the franchise from Florida. ” In my opinion he moves much better, I think he is comfortable. Defensively, the fact that he blocks those shots, that he takes rebounds and that he defends one-on-one without us having to help, we can only appreciate. His offensive background, his ability to draw fouls or go to the basket at the end of the game, that’s huge. »

Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg and the rest of the Mavericks will now measure themselves against the NBA benchmark by facing the Thunder the following night. The league leader is undefeated at home since the start of the season (ten wins), but Dallas surprised Oklahoma City twice last season at the Pike Center.

For Cooper Flagg, this will be an opportunity to confirm his current progress, after posting his worst match since the start of his career against the reigning champion at 2 points at 1/9 on October 27th.