Grading Cooper Flagg's unexpectedly bumpy Dallas Mavericks debut

With all the excitement for Cooper Flagg's Dallas Mavericks debut, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs rudely spoiled the excitement, as Wembanyama had 40 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocks in one of the most otherworldly single-game performances of all time.

Flagg had some great moments in the contest and played with outstanding effort per usual, but his performance followed suit with the rest of the Mavericks for the most part, as he had a very rough shooting game and struggled with some of his decision-making as a primary ball handler. With that being said, we'll go ahead and grade Flagg's Maverick debut.

Grading Cooper Flagg's slow Dallas Maverick debut

Overall in the contest, Flagg finished with 10 points, 10 points, and one steal off 4-13 shooting from the field. The playmaking ability and consistent lane penetration that fans saw from him in preseason weren't there throughout most of the contest, as head coach Jason Kidd decided to start Flagg at point guard, which proved to be a tall task for the 18-year-old from the get-go.

Just like everyone else on the Mavericks, Flagg was undoubtedly affected by Wembanyama's presence in the paint, often dribbling out after getting an edge toward the rim, whereas Flagg was finishing or dumping off to the dunker spot throughout most of the preseason during these instances.

Flagg had some opportunities to let it fly from outside when defenders went under on screens at the point of attack multiple times in the contest, but he was hesitant more times than not, and still hesitated before shooting the one 3-pointer he took in the contest. Outside of Wembanyama, the Spurs have a variety of rangy guards and wings that played elite defense in this game, so it must be acknowledged that Flagg didn't get the best pick of the litter in his debut.

As aforementioned, Flagg's effort was the one consistent valve from him in this contest, as he fought and boxed out at an elite level, and was diving for loose balls on the floor and out of bounds. Flagg got it going a little bit in the third quarter amidst a terrible dry spell for the Mavericks offensively, nailing some toughly contested mid-range jumpers, as well as a winding up-and-under layup.

Flagg had three turnovers in the contest and had the worst plus-minus out of any Maverick at -29, but he competed at a high level defensively, even if he could've been a little more disciplined at times. Overall, Mavericks fans don't have anything to worry about when it comes to Flagg's rookie season, as he has all the tools to be elite in this league, though it's without a doubt that Kidd needs to try and play some more lineups with Flagg playing at small forward or shooting guard.

The Spurs have all the tools to be a defensive juggernaut, especially if Wembanyama plays at that level, but Flagg would've had some hiccups against any team, given Kidd ran him at point guard, as this game was clearly another level compared to anything the Mavericks saw in preseason. Flagg definitely wasn't put in the best position, but needless to say, it was an underwhelming debut given how excited Mavericks fans were.

Flagg ultimately gets a D+ for his debut as he played hard, but his offensive performance was underwhelming.