Cooper Flagg, welcome to the NBA.
The No. 1 pick from last June went through his first back-to-back as an NBA player, with the second half of that being against defending champion Oklahoma City and its elite defense. Flagg tweaked his shoulder battling Isaiah Hartenstein for a rebound and had a huge wrap on it whenever he was on the bench — and he was on the bench for most of the fourth quarter as Jason Kidd went another direction, sticking with the guys making a comeback.
Flagg’s final stat line: two points on 1-of-9 shooting, two rebounds, and being -20. After the game, he admitted he had never been on the bench in crunch time before and that it was a rough night, [his quotes courtesy Tim MacMahon of ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46753133/mavs-cooper-flagg-hurts-shoulder-benched-crunch).
_“The way the game was going, we had a group out there that was doing really well and was on a run, so I see where Coach was at with that,” Flagg said. “And I mean, I was flat. I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t impacting the game at a high level, wasn’t doing the right stuff. So obviously, that’s an easy decision for Coach. He was just out there trying to win the game.”_
As for his shoulder, Flagg was not concerned that this was something long-term, and he said he hopes and expects to play on Wednesday against Indiana.
_“We’re going to probably get some scans or whatever, make sure everything’s all clean, but I feel like it’s just a little sore,” said Flagg, who thought he injured his shoulder while boxing out. “Just want to keep an eye on it, ice it, do some rehab and should be good to go.”_
Consider this a reminder that, for everyone entering the NBA — even highly touted rookies on the first steps of what could be a legendary career — there is a learning curve. Kidd also pushed Flagg into a challenging role to start the season, putting the rookie in more of a point-forward role and asking him to initiate a lot of the offense, which makes his learning curve that much steeper. Running into the juggernaut of OKC on a back-to-back was too much for a night.
This is life in the NBA. The other players are the best in the world, the game is physical and takes its toll, and the season is a marathon grind of 82 games with a lot of travel and some back-to-backs. Kidd praised Flagg for his toughness, but he has a lot to learn and a lot of maturing to do as a player, just like all the NBA rookies (including the greats) who came before him. This was just his first rough patch.
Oklahoma City picked up the win, 101-94, behind 23 points and eight assists from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with Chet Holmgren adding 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Ajay Mitchell continuing his hot start to the season, scoring 17 off the bench.
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