What feat of strength will Cooper Flagg perform next?
Find out when the Dallas Mavericks (25-53) wrap up their two-night residency in Los Angeles on Tuesday with a game against the Clippers at the Intuit Dome. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CDT.
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On Friday, Flagg gave the Orlando Magic 51 on 19-of-30 shooting. On Sunday, he backed it up with 45 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in a 134-128 win at the Lakers. If that trend continues, perhaps Flagg is due for a 40-point triple-double at the Clippers? Don’t discount the possibility.
Both he and the Mavericks coaching staff have shown us that getting Flagg the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award is a goal of the utmost importance as the season winds down. His 96 points in a two-game span is a mark only bested in NBA history by Wilt Chamberlain during his rookie year.
And the rest of the Mavs? It looks like they’re just trying to get to the finish line, as we all are. Here are three things we’ll be watching out for in the Mavericks’ Tuesday matchup with the Clippers.
Rookie of the Year race
Kon Knueppel and his Charlotte Hornets face the Boston Celtics just a couple of hours before the Mavs tip off against the Clippers. On Sunday, Knueppel laid a stinker on a 4-of-14 shooting night as the Hornets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 122-108.
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Would Flagg continuing his scorching hot tear in the season’s final six games be enough to sway the Rookie of the Year voters over to his side? A third straight monster performance couldn’t hurt, especially since Knueppel has gone over the 20-point mark just once in his last nine games.
There was a time, as Flagg worked his way back from a foot injury in February, that Knueppel was simply out-playing Flagg on a nightly basis. That is no longer the case. It only makes sense that the last few games of the season would hold equal weight as voters consider whose name to put on their ballots.
Box score watching will likely be at least as compelling as the product the Mavericks put on the floor against the Clippers, who have won two of their last three after losing five straight at the end of March.
Guard play
Brandon Williams in particular has become an interesting case study at guard in recent games. On some nights he looks like the perfect tank commander, as his jumpshot leaves a little to be desired and his size makes him something of a liability on the defensive end. But at other times, he’s able to get to the basket at will, zooming past the defense in big moments that make one wonder whether he’s actually a useful piece for the future.
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Combine his knack for scoring with the fact that the Mavericks’ latest win over the Lakers may have hurt their draft lottery odds as much as it helped Flagg’s Rookie of the Year chances, and you start to wonder what guards in the stellar 2026 NBA Draft class may even be available at all when the Mavs’ first pick comes around.
Is Williams a good option off the bench going forward? Or is he as replaceable as basically everyone else on this roster not named Flagg? He’s auditioning, and he’s playing like it lately, averaging 17 points per game in his last four outings.
Get it over with
Two of the Mavericks’ previous three games against the Clippers this year have gone into overtime. The Mavs lost to Los Angeles at home in overtime, 138-131, on Mar. 23 and dropped a double-overtime loss to the Clippers, 133-127, on Nov. 14.
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The Mavs are now 17-26 this season in 43 clutch games after Sunday’s win at the Lakers. No matter how bad they look at times, they seem to always work their way back into games. Whether that’s more sheer force of will or simply Silly Season shenanigans at play, sometimes it’s hard to tell.
With a late start on our hands on Tuesday, all we’re really hoping for is a clear result at the end of regulation this time around. We’re so done with this season. All that’s left seems to be Flagg’s march to a postseason award.
How to watch
The Mavericks and the Clippers are slated for a 9:30 p.m. CDT tip on Wednesday from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. The game will be televised locally on KFAA Channel 29 and on sister stations throughout the Mavericks’ regional viewership area. You can catch the stream on MavsTV and on NBA League Pass where available.
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