Jason Kidd’s challenge to Cooper Flagg finally gets the answer he needed

The Dallas Mavericks finagled a crucial victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday evening, as they were able to score in bunches en route to a 139-129 win, despite their 3-point shooting still not turning the corner.

Anthony Davis' uber-efficient night certainly helped Dallas' case, and D'Angelo Russell actually providing some three-level scoring off the bench was much needed, but Dallas doesn't get this win if No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg doesn't have his best game in the league so far.

Head coach Jason Kidd has been contingent on starting Flagg at point guard through three games, and while it looked like this may have been too tall a task for Flagg in Dallas' first two contests, this wasn't the case last night. In 29 minutes of action, Flagg had 22 points, four rebounds, four assists, and zero turnovers off 8-14 shooting from the field, as he was play-making and shot-creating at a high level all game long.

Flagg shines as a playmaker and shot creator for first time this season

While Flagg was just as aggressive in Dallas' loss versus the Washington Wizards last Friday, his decision-making was far more polished versus Toronto, as he was making the right read in the pick-and-roll and in transition nearly every time he had the ball in his hands. Flagg went 2-6 from outside in the contest, but he really seemed to try and play more inside-out versus the Raptors, making a point of emphasis to get to the rim consistently throughout the contest.

Flagg's athleticism is tantalizing, evidenced by his first real poster in the third quarter during a play in transition versus the Raptors. The Mavericks truly don't have anybody from the wing position who can make the type of plays in the open and halfcourt that Flagg can make, barring P.J. Washington when he really has it going offensively, and it's already been evident how much Flagg's size has aided his playmaking.

There were multiple possessions last night where Flagg connected with Dallas' big men in perfect sync on some lab passes, and this was one of Flagg's greatest strengths coming out of college at Duke University last season. Russell may be Dallas' best true playmaker with Kyrie Irving still out of the lineup, but Dallas clearly won't shy away from starting Flagg at point guard if he can continue to be this efficient with the ball in his hands.

Ryan Nembhard and Brandon Williams are still poised to assume some minutes at Dallas' lead guard position as well, but Kidd has been flexible with the lineups Flagg has been playing in, as he's featured him with other guards on the floor plenty as well, so it's without a doubt that Flagg is still going to get plenty of opportunities as a lead ball handler this season.

Once Kidd figures out how to balance Flagg's skillset completely, maximizing his off-ball effectiveness as a cutter and screener in lineups with other shot creators, while letting him take the reins when he is one of the only creators on the floor, this is when fans will see Flagg start to truly come into his own offensively. This could be happening sooner rather than later after a stellar performance in just his third NBA game.