Cooper Flagg continues streak of impressive playmaking despite Mavericks' loss to Hawks
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) drives to the paint against Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) during the first half of an NBA basketball game at American Airlines Center on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Dallas. (Elías Valverde II/Staff Photographer) Jason Kidd knows firsthand that it takes two to complete an assist. The Mavericks coach ranks third in NBA history in that category, but those passes wouldn't have been recorded on the stat sheet if the recipients didn't finish with a basket.
Cooper Flagg has seen an influx in his assists per game since he returned from a left midfoot sprain that sidelined him for eight games. He averaged 6. 6 assists over the last nine games entering Wednesday's lopsided 135-120 loss to the Atlanta Hawks - an uptick from the 4.
1 helpers per game before his injury. One could surmise that Flagg is being more intentional with the pass as he looks to regain his scoring rhythm, but Kidd doesn't share the same perspective. "He's been doing that," Kidd said during his pregame news conference.
"I think a little bit of that is also [teammates] being able to finish and make shots. For us as a group, we're starting to make shots and I think that's helped him. But he's been making a lot of those plays.
Early on, we weren't converting those and right now we are. " The Mavericks converted on 42 of their 86 field goal attempts in Wednesday's loss to the Hawks, which marked the 10th straight loss at home. It was a night when they made 48.