Cooper Flagg downplays injury after ‘flat out’ disaster against Thunder

As it is The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night, 101-94, attention turned to the rookie Cooper Flaggwho suffered a shoulder injury on the first possession of the game. Doc Flagg was special for the Mavericks for the start of the season, the injury could worry fans about his outlook, although the 18-year-old would provide insight into the shoulder problem.

Flagg would only score two points, shooting one of nine from the field, missing all three of his shots from deep, to go along with two rebounds and two steals. He would also sit most of the time for a cramp, per Jason Kidddecision to prevent further injury. As Flagg said after the game, he feels it “like it’s just a little sore,” after suffering an injury while boxing out a defender early in the contest, according to ESPN.

“We’ll probably get some scans or whatever, make sure everything’s clear, but I feel like it’s just a little bit sore,” Flagg said. “I just want to keep an eye on it, ice it, do some rehab and it should be fine.”

It was a close game against the defending champions, as Dallas came back from a 22-point deficit to cut it to one after Flagg was ejected with eight minutes left.

“It wasn’t his night tonight,” Kidd said. “We are a team and understand that the group that was there put us in a position to win. He wasn’t on the floor, but he was rooting for his teammates.”

Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg admits to “flat” performance against Thunder

With Flagg sets career high in Mavericks win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Monday’s slump could be attributed to shoulder soreness. Still, Flagg admitted he had a “flat” outing against the Thunder, understanding why he wasn’t there in crunch time.

“As the game went on, we had a group that worked really well and were on the run, so I can see where coach was with that,” Flagg said. “And I mean, I was flat. I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t impacting the game at a high level, I wasn’t doing the right things. So obviously, it’s an easy decision for the coach. He was just trying to win the game.”

Either way, Flagg and Dallas look to bounce back against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.