Cooper Flagg drops honest opinion on carrying Mavericks fans' expectations ahead of game vs Luka Doncic's Lakers

The Dallas Mavericks will lock horns with the LA Lakers in one of the biggest games on the calendar on Friday. It's the first game between the teams in the regular season and the third since the infamous Doncic trade in February. It's an emotional game for the Slovenian player and the Mavericks fan base, who will weigh their expectations on 18-year-old rookie Flagg to secure a win.

Cooper Flagg reflects on game vs Lakers

He expressed his thoughts on that game following Monday's loss to Miami saying:

"I would say to me, it's another game. I know there's gonna be a lot of other things that go into that game & through a lot of these guys' mindsets & whatnot. For me, it's just another game.

"I'm trying to survive day by day, take everything one day at a time, one game at at time. Right now, we're just trying to find ways to win."

Dallas Mavericks' saviour

Cooper Flagg has been widely considered as the team's saviour following Dallas winning the lottery with a 1.8 chance and drafted him with the No.1 pick. It was the only good thing that happened after trading Luka Doncic for an aging and injury-prone Anthony Davis.

Things have become worse for the Mavericks since then. Former general manager Nico Harrison, the key reason of the Doncic-Davis trade, claimed Dallas had a three-to-four-year window to compete for championships after the move.

Dallas Mavericks' injury woes

Sadly for the Mavericks, that window may never open after a 5-14 start. Davis, 32, has been injured since October 29, missing 14 games because of a calf strain. Kyrie Irving, 33, has yet to make a comeback from ACL surgery.

After parting ways with Harrison for the Doncic trade, among other factors, several reports claim the Mavericks may look to move on from Davis and Irving and rebuild around Flagg.

On the contrary, the Lakers are 12-4 with Doncic, who is averaging a career-best and league-leading 34.5 points. LA is not in the top level of contenders, but if it makes a move or two, Doncic could be winning his first ring sooner rather than later in the Lakers' jersey.