"@BillSimmons in 2023 was defending Banchero’s ROTY case even though the Magic were 13th, and Jdub was having a better season in terms of % and was in the play-in with OKC.
He didn’t care at all about the ‘Winning Impact’ for a rookie.
But this year, he changes his mind…”
Here's the last four games for Cooper Flagg:
Against Orlando, Flagg scored 51 and shot 19/30 overall, 6/9 on 3s, and 7/7 on free throws with only 1 turnover in 34 minutes. He was very efficient. This was a performance when everything clicked, and he was far above his previous best 3-point shooting. That tends to get you a big night. All 3 levels, he was scoring efficiently. Flagg scored 24 in the fourth quarter while shooting 8/12 FG, 4/6 3P, and 4/4 FT — not like he was out here throwing up shots inefficiently to pad scoring. I'd hope a team keeps the ball in their No. 1 pick's hands to keep attacking and grow his game.
Against the Lakers, Flagg had 45 points on the night and again shot 14/27 FG, 2/4 3P, and 15/17 FT in 39 minutes to help the Mavs win. Flagg was scoring a lot early (26 points in the first half). Brandon Williams actually handled the ball and attacked quite a bit in the fourth quarter, rather than Flagg chucking to get another 50+ points. He only shot the ball 6 times in the fourth quarter.
Against the Clippers, the Mavs got off to a horrendous start collectively. Flagg had to score 13 of the Mavs' first 17 points in LA to get them back on track. He finished with 25 points and 9 rebounds. Flagg checked out with 5:15 left in the fourth quarter instead of padding his stats late.
Against the Suns, Flagg didn't play for the final 4:37 of the fourth quarter when he easily could have played to pad his stats. Instead, he finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists on a poor shooting night as opposed to gunning for an empty 20+ points.