Dallas has won two straight and sits seventh in the West, but the margins under that record are thin. Cooper Flagg's scoring, Moussa Cisse's sudden workload and a 49-33 pace tell you where this team stands and how far it still has to go.
A Thin Plus-2.2 Margin
Dallas is scoring 113.8 per 100 possessions and allowing 111.6 at a 100.3 pace. That is a team winning both ends by a little. Holding Oklahoma City to 96 shows the defense has a ceiling. It does not show consistency: the 16-point home loss to San Antonio and the 18-point loss in Houston are both inside that number. Friday's opponent runs a 122.5 offensive rating, a real test of whether 111.6 holds against a full-strength attack.
Flagg Is the Whole Engine
Flagg is at 25.3 per game in four games and 30.7 minutes, with 6.8 assists, and he put up 26 against the Thunder after 29 and 11 assists in Miami. The usage is a star's. The shooting is not there yet: he is at 31.8% from three, Washington is at 32.3% and Risacher is at 25.0%. Marcus Sasser's 47.4% is the outlier. A 2.2 net rating with cold perimeter shooting cuts two ways. Dallas can get better when the threes fall, or the record is ahead of the shooting.
Cisse's Load, the 49-33 Pace
Cisse is logging 26.0 a game across the last five because Lively and Aldama are both out, each with an estimated return of November 2. That is a starter's workload for a second-year center, and it is filling a gap, not winning a job. The 49-33 projection is a 3-2 start multiplied out over 77 remaining games. Dallas is zero games back of sixth and one game clear of eleventh. The projection does not account for a stretch that includes Houston, Sacramento, a trip to San Antonio, Utah and Brooklyn.
Will Cooper Flagg play against the Rockets?
Flagg is not on the current injury list. He was cleared on October 27 after a left shoulder issue.
When are Dereck Lively II and Santi Aldama expected back?
Both are listed out with an estimated return of November 2, the date of the home game against Sacramento.
