It’s invisible, but make no mistake, it’s there.
Generations of NBA players have had to encounter the Rookie Wall, so there was no reason to believe Mavericks No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg would be an exception.
He wasn’t, as evidenced by his combined statistics of the past three games: 37 points on 14 of 47 (29.8%) shooting.
As Mavericks coach and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd explains it, the wall cannot be softened, easily climbed or ignored.
“You’ve got to touch it,” Kidd said. “You’ve gotta rub it and hold it. He’s got to embrace it. That’s just a mental thing.
“For the great ones, they touch it. They don’t run from it. They find a way to go over it or through it or around it. Because it’s not going to move.”
Flagg deservedly was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for October/November and December.
In the first 12 games of December he seemed unstoppable, averaging 24.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 53.7% shooting.
But there are logical reasons for this abrupt dropoff. Yes, he’s a spry 19 years old, but he also seventh in the NBA in minutes played, 1,212, in 35 games.
He’s also suddenly in unfamiliar territory. In his only season at Duke last year he played 1,135 minutes in 37 games. Never mind that his 82-game rookie NBA season isn’t quite half over.
“I feel solid,” Flagg said. “It’s a lot of basketball, but, yeah, I’m getting through it. I’m figuring out my routine more and more. Stuff that works; stuff that doesn’t.
“Obviously there’s days you feel tired. Days you don’t feel fully 100%. But you figure out a way to play through it and be tough.”
Saturday 110-104 home victory over Houston represented a step forward in that regard.
Flagg committed two fouls in the game’s first four minutes and sat out the rest of the first quarter. Still, he played 35 minutes, second-most among Mavericks behind Anthony Davis’ 39 minutes.
Flagg scored only 10 points and shot 3-of-12 from the field, but no one would have guessed that from his demeanor, energy level and overall production. He posted seven rebounds and team highs in assists (six) and steals (two).
Kidd described it as another important facet in Flagg’s season-long learning experience. The same goes for fellow rookie Ryan Nembhard.
Kidd noted the way Flagg embraced and learned from playing point guard to start this season, even though it was uncomfortable for him. Kidd said having veteran teammates and coaches will help.
“Most of us have been in this situation as a young player,” he said. “You’re going to get tired. You can see throughout the league, some of the young players are not playing well.
“Cooper’s always been up for a challenge, and part of the NBA is this marathon that we run. Some will figure it out earlier, some figure it out later, knowing how to run it.”
Davis, 32 years old and in his 14th NBA season, joked that his rookie year was so long ago that he barely remembers how he confronted the stamina wall.
Davis averaged 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds that season and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting to Damian Lillard.
“You’re used to playing 38 games [in college], and you come in and it’s not even the halfway point of the NBA season, it could be a lot,” he said. “Obviously we put a lot of pressure on him, as well. We ask him to do a lot.
“I think every rookie kind of goes through a stretch, but I think he’s playing good basketball.”
Story by Brad Townsend, The Dallas Morning News.