Zach Lowe says the quiet part out loud about how teams will defend Cooper Flagg

It was recently suggested by Zach Lowe that in the coming season, teams facing off with the Dallas Mavericks are likely going to defend Cooper Flagg in such a way where they are constantly shifting between he and Anthony Davis, in an effort to force the rookie to prove he can take on both bigger and smaller defenders. 

The intent of this strategy from the opposition would be to potentially try to expose what they would believe to be Flagg's limitations offensively. If he doesn't quite showcase top-level versatility, strength, or footwork early on, those are things that opposing defenses will look to take advantage of. 

Think of this as a sort of offensive stress test. Defenses are going to push Flagg into discomfort early on, hoping to expose areas of growth before midseason. Obviously, Cooper is immensely talented. There are certain things that may take time for him to figure out, but he's going to get there eventually. From the opposing teams' point of view, this is just about doing everything they can to slow him down in the meantime. 

Defenses are going to be switching on Flagg frequently

Certain scouting reports from college and summer league have noted that Flagg's shooting inconsistency is still a question mark at this point in time. His ability to maintain an efficient jumper when asked to create more is still a potential point of concern. With that being said, Cooper is going to get a lot more on-ball reps early with Kyrie Irving sidelined. 

In the end, this defensive strategy from other NBA teams could end up backfiring. If Flagg responds well to this shifting defensive activity, he's going to gain legitimacy as an offensive creator relatively quickly. Being in this position can also allow him to show his ability to score in multiple matchups, rather than just being efficient when the offense is clean. 

And really, the downsides here really aren't even all that bad. If Flagg does struggle initially under those switches, his points of weakness are going to become obvious. This is only going to give the coaching staff more evidence as to what they need to fix. Essentially, it's hard to see a scenario where Cooper loses here.

If Flagg overcomes this pressure, media and fans alike will talk about this as a foundational narrative of his rookie season. Throwing a young guy into the fire isn't always going to succeed, but most rookies also aren't Cooper Flagg.