NBA Notes: Mavericks, Cooper Flagg, Cavs, Thunder

Mavericks

Top pick Cooper Flagg wasted no time showing why Dallas made him the No. 1 selection.

The rookie forward stuffed the box score in his preseason debut, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block in 14 minutes of a 106-89 win over Oklahoma City.

Flagg did all of his scoring during a two-and-a-half-minute burst in the second quarter, flashing everything from coast-to-coast finishing to pull-up 3s.

He also blocked Isaiah Joe’s layup just 85 seconds into the game, sparking a break that Anthony Davis capped with a dunk.

“You got to see the defensive side, you got to see the playmaking and then the scoring,” coach Jason Kidd said, via Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “He was really, really good.”

Cavaliers

With Boston and Indiana banged up, Cleveland could be in position to finish atop the Eastern Conference for the second straight year.

Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes predicts 57 wins and the No. 1 seed for the Cavs, even with early injuries to Darius Garland and Max Strus.

Hughes points to a deep roster led by Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley, the latter a possible top-five MVP candidate.

Lonzo Ball’s arrival and Jarrett Allen’s consistency provide further stability.

Health remains the big variable — Garland and Strus are already sidelined — but Cleveland’s ceiling remains high in coach Kenny Atkinson’s second year.

Thunder

Second-year guard Nikola Topic will miss the start of the regular season after undergoing a testicular procedure, the team announced.

He’ll be reevaluated in 4–6 weeks, delaying his long-awaited NBA debut after missing last season with a torn ACL.

Topic logged 31 minutes in Sunday’s preseason opener, tallying 10 points, seven assists and four rebounds.

Oklahoma City already has plenty of backcourt depth. So Topic doesn’t need to rush back by any stretch — but it’s another unfortunate setback for the 2024 No. 12 pick.