Plenty of longtime Celtics fans from Maine might feel torn about who to cheer for Friday.
But not Kelly and Ralph Flagg.
Yes, they grew up in Maine rooting for Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics. But now, one of their sons plays for a different team.
And with Cooper Flagg’s Dallas Mavericks taking on the Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston for the first time in his young NBA career Friday night, his parents are leaving no doubt about where their loyalties lie.
“I still love Boston, and they’re obviously our favorite Eastern Conference team. When the Mavs aren’t in the playoffs, we’ll be cheering for them as usual,” Kelly Flagg told the Bangor Daily News on Tuesday night. “But definitely, when it’s regular season and we face off, there’s no question where our loyalty lies. And we are diehard Mavs fans as long as Cooper is in that jersey.”
She and her husband were in Orono on Tuesday night watching their son Ace Flagg, Cooper’s twin brother, play for the University of Maine men’s basketball team.
Kelly Flagg, then Kelly Bowman, also played basketball at UMaine. Ralph Flagg played at Eastern Maine Technical College (now Eastern Maine Community College) in Bangor. They both grew up supporting and learning from the 1980s Boston Celtics teams, but they’re all aboard the Mavericks train now.
“I’m hoping to see a sea of blue when we get there,” Ralph Flagg said ahead of Friday night’s game.
It remains unclear if Cooper Flagg will be able to play in that matchup with the Celtics. He has missed eight straight games due to a foot sprain, and the Mavericks have not set an exact timetable for his return as of Wednesday morning. Mavs coach Jason Kidd said Tuesday that he hopes to have Flagg back at some point on the team’s current six game road trip, according to Yahoo News.
“He’s ramping up,” Kidd said about Flagg. “Everything is going well. Today was to kind of get back in his routine, and hopefully, as we go on this road trip, he can get in and play a game or two.”
When available, Flagg has been a force on the court in his rookie season, averaging more than 20 points, six rebounds and four assists per game.
“I think Coop is definitely excited about being in Boston and playing in that game,” Ralph Flagg said.
Whether he’ll actually get to play is still an open question, but there’s no doubt that a large contingent of Mainers will be in attendance to support him.
“I think I’ve heard from about 2,000 Mainers that they’re making their way down, and a lot of them will be wearing their Cooper jerseys,” Kelly Flagg said. “I know there’s going to be a lot of people that are kind of torn between their lifelong loyalty to Boston and their love of Cooper.”
She also said that Friday will be a chance for the NBA rookie to connect with family and friends. Those opportunities are probably few and far between in the middle of an 80-plus game schedule.
“He’s also excited to see all of his family and friends that will be in one place,” Kelly Flagg added. “We’ve got some special things planned for our village to get together, and he’s going to have a chance to spend some time with everybody after the game.”
Friday’s game in Boston will be part of another busy logistical weekend for the Flagg parents with one son playing in the NBA and another in Division I college basketball. After the Mavs play the Celtics, the UMaine Black Bears and Ace Flagg have a playoff game in New Jersey against NJIT.
That America East conference tournament game tips off at 4 p.m. in Newark. Ace Flagg, a freshman forward for the Black Bears, has stepped into a larger role for UMaine in the second half of the season and is the reigning conference rookie of the week. He scored a career high 22 points against Albany last week.
Kelly and Ralph Flagg knew going into the season that they would have to divide and conquer in order to be as present as possible at their sons’ different games.
“It’s been hectic, but it’s been a lot of fun,” Kelly Flagg explained. “I’m with Cooper most of the time, and [Ralph] is with Ace most of the time. I feel like we’ve done a really good job of overlapping when we’ve had the opportunities.”
She estimated that she’s been to 11 of Ace’s games, which also happens to be his number and the number she wore during her time at UMaine. And her husband has been to a lot of Cooper’s games, too, she said.
And next, that busy schedule will lead them back to Boston.
“It’s surreal. Everybody keeps asking us how we’re going to feel, because TD Garden is obviously special to us,” Kelly Flagg added. “And just all the years of taking the kids, at least once a year, to a game when they were growing up as fans. And just the anticipation to see him out on the floor and walking around the Garden is pretty cool.”
The Mavericks and Celtics play at 7 p.m. Friday. For UMaine, Saturday’s playoff contest against NJIT will be win or go home.
“Go Mavs, go Black Bears,” Kelly Flagg said.