Three things Cooper Flagg should focus on after first career win

Cooper Flagg may be the most talked-about prospect the NBA has seen since LeBron James. While other first-overall players like Anthony Edwards and Zion Williamson took over the NBA media landscape as they got to college or the draft, Flagg had people talking about him since he was about 14 or 15 years old. 

It's not shocking, as many young prospects get hyped up before they even reach high school, or right after they debut as freshmen. Players like Emoni Bates or Sebastian Telfair jump to mind, yet few actually translate. Flagg looks like he's going to. 

During the Dallas Mavericks' 139-129 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Flagg notched his first career win and put forth a historic performance. Throughout his first few games, he's looked good. Not perfect, but good. 

The Mavericks, who drafted Flagg first overall, won the sweepstakes of a lifetime and are hoping he can replace former franchise player Luka Doncic. Flagg isn't Doncic, not in any way. They play different styles of games, but for Flagg to make the Mavericks a contender the same way Doncic did, he'll have to improve upon a few aspects of his game.

Perimeter defense

Right now, Flagg is often playing out of position. Forced to take on point guard responsibilities, he is often matched up with faster players. Flagg, a natural forward, is struggling a little on defense. Flagg was touted as a do-it-all type of player, so if he is, he'll have to work on his perimeter defense some.

Passing

As noted before, Flagg is playing out of position as the point man for the Mavericks. This allows him to take control of the game more and score, an ability for which he's well-renowned, but in his current role, he has to distribute the ball more. He's filling in for the injured Kyrie Irving in this regard, but his offense is only ranking 17th in team assists (25) per game.

The lack of ball movement is part of the reason why the Mavericks offense isn't where it should be, ranking just 24th in the league in points per game (112.7). If Flagg can find a way to better distribute the ball, the Mavs offense may blossom a bit more.

Three-point shooting

Flagg is actually playing quite well as an overall offensive player. He's out of position, sure, but he's shooting 43.9% from the floor,and 48.3% on two-point field goals. He makes his bones inside as a player. He's a strong rebounder and fantastic finisher around the basket, shooting nearly 82% from inside of three feet. Yet, his three-point shooting could use some work. A great three-point average is the high 30s to low 40s. That's where guys like Steph Curry shoot from. Anything mid-30s to high-30s is a good stat line. 

Flagg isn't there yet, but he could easily be. Right now, he's hitting just 33.3% from three, which isn't bad, but it isn't good. As he develops as a pro player, his shot will likely improve somewhat. No one should expect Pete Maravich or Reggie Miller, but he should be a respectable perimeter shooter, one that you can't afford to leave open.