DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat are set to go head-to-head on Wednesday night in Dallas. Before the game, Jason Kidd revealed how Anthony Davis impacts Cooper Flagg while on the floor.
“You're gonna have to put your best defender on someone, most of the time it's AD,” Kidd told reporters. “So he (Flagg) gets the secondary defender. For him, it's his ability to get to the paint, but also be able to play off AD. He doesn't have to do everything like he did here early on where we're asking him to point guard, score, and defend, and do everything which he's not afraid of doing, but now he has some help.”
Davis is back in the starting lineup after previously missing time with a calf injury. When healthy, AD is still the best player on the team. Flagg is only 18 years old and Kyrie Irving likely won't return until early 2026 as he recovers from ACL surgery.
Flagg has been the player opponents have been preparing especially carefully for over the past few weeks as Davis dealt with an injury, though. Now, with Davis back on the floor, the 18-year-old will get a secondary defender which could lead to an increase in his scoring.
Heat's Erik Spoelstra a fan of Mavericks stars
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was asked about both Davis and Flagg before Wednesday's Heat-Mavericks contest, and it's safe to say he is a fan of both players' games.
“I got to know him (Davis) with USA Basketball and I love him,” Spoelstra told reporters. “I just think he's about the right things, he impacts winning, he's a Hall of Fame talent… He plays the right way on both ends of the court. This team, despite their record, has been in a lot of really tough games, particularly here in Dallas.”
As for Flagg, Spoelstra can't “fathom” what the 18-year-old is already accomplishing in the NBA.
“He (Flagg) just has a great maturity about him. He's not even 19 years old,” Spoelstra said. “I just can't fathom that… If I was 18 in his shoes, I would stat-hunt and not play the right way. He just has a great competitive spirit, plays the right way, competes to win. That's an extremely hard thing to teach young players.”
The Mavs and Heat will play at 8:30 PM EST in Dallas on Wednesday night.
