On Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks suffered a brutal 87-121 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves with the superstar duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving missing from the squad. Doncic missed the game due to an ankle injury, while Irving has been dealing with a right thumb sprain that he suffered during Dallas’ loss to the Boston Celtics ten days ago.
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The Mavs take on the formidable Eastern Conference powerhouse, the Milwaukee Bucks, on Saturday at American Airlines Center. Fans will hope to have the Luka-Kyrie duo back in action against a team led by Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
While Doncic is expected to return after a one-game absence, Irving’s status for the game against the Bucks is listed as ‘doubtful’ in the Mavs’ February 3 injury report. The veteran guard has missed the team’s last five games, and his absence could extend to six. Irving’s extended absence is somewhat perplexing.
During the post-game press conference after the Mavericks’ loss to the Celtics, Irving said that he was frustrated about the injury but wasn’t expecting to miss any games. He has since then not featured in any of Dallas’ five matchups.
However, there’s some positive news about Irving. The veteran guard was seen shooting the ball during the Mavericks’ practice session yesterday. He did not seem to be facing any discomfort taking shots from beyond the arc.
While Irving has been listed as doubtful for the game against the Bucks, Mavs fans will at least take consolation in the fact that their superstar guard Luka Doncic’s name has not been added to the injury report. He will have to show up with another big performance like his recent 73-point dagger for Dallas to win tonight. However, that shouldn’t be an uphill task considering Milwaukee’s recent defensive woes. Moreover, their head coach transition hasn’t been as smooth as they would have liked it to be.
Kyrie Irving already ineligible for NBA accolades
Kyrie Irving’s latest five-game stint on the sidelines has taken his tally of games missed to 21. If the Mavericks guard returns to the lineup on Saturday against the Bucks and plays every remaining game of the team’s regular season schedule, he’ll still finish the year with 61 games.
That rules Irving out of contention for the MVP award and an All-NBA nod. The league’s new mandate prevents players who miss more than 17 regular-season games from earning individual accolades. The superstar guard is currently averaging 25.3 points, 5.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds. A strong finish to his regular-season campaign could’ve earned him an All-NBA nod. However, the new rules ensure that the veteran guard won’t be adding a fourth All-NBA appearance to his resume this year. He’ll now focus on helping the Mavericks earn a playoff berth.
Dallas are 26-22 at the moment and eighth in the Western Conference standings. They desperately need Irving to return to the lineup and help them stitch together a run of wins to climb in the standings and secure a playoff berth.
