Kyrie Irving Practices as Mavs Prepare for Celtics; Latest on Dante Exum's Injury

The Mavs practiced in Dallas for the first time since Dec. 21 after the NBA postponed Friday's game against the Golden State Warriors.

SAN FRANCISCO — Instead of gearing up to play the Golden State Warriors as initially scheduled on Friday, the Dallas Mavericks returned to Texas and practiced at the team facility — the first practice for the team since Dec. 21. The game against the Warriors was postponed due to the tragic passing of Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic.

"Yeah, unfortunately, with the passing of [Dejan], we're having practice because of the circumstances," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "But I think being able to get some practice reviewing some of the concepts, both offensively and defensively, was good today."

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Among the participants in Friday's practice was Kyrie Irving, who collided with LeBron James during the first quarter of the Mavs' loss against the Lakers. The question was raised about Irving's potential participation since he went to the locker room and was described by Kidd as having "hurt his hip" in the post-game press conference. 

"Good, he practiced," Kidd said of Irving. 

Dante Exum has remained sidelined since Jan. 1, when he was ruled out mid-game in the Mavs' loss against the Utah Jazz due to a right foot issue. He was initially diagnosed with a "right heel contusion," but it was later changed and has since remained a "right plantar sprain" as an official designation. 

Exum participated in all of the Mavs' non-contact portion of practice, suggesting he is progressing in recovery.  

"He did everything non-contact-wise today, so it was good," Kidd said of Exum.

Right now, the Mavs are not focused on releasing a return timeline for Exum but are encouraged by the progression he's achieved. The team hopes that his daily recovery continues to go in the right direction as it has been. 

"Yeah, it's great that he's going in that direction," Kidd said. "When you talk about being out on the court, he did everything non-contact today. Hopefully, tomorrow will be another positive day where he's not sore and he can do a little bit more. But again, he's going in the right direction. So we're excited to see him back on the floor."

Looking beyond Irving and Exum, Kidd stated that everybody playing recently participated in Friday's practice. 

"Everybody who's been playing practiced," Kidd said.

Next up, the Mavs will take on the Boston Celtics to open a two-game homestand, beginning on Monday. Dallas understands it will be a tough matchup against a 32-9 team ranked first in the Eastern Conference. It will also potentially be Kristaps Porzingis' first game played at American Airlines Center since being traded in 2022.

"Yeah, I think they're one of the best teams in the league," Kidd said of the Celtics. "They've been to the NBA Finals here a couple of times. Just understanding, they're well-coached. They present [a challenge] with [Jayson] Tatum and [Jaylen] Brown being able to score — Kristaps [Porzingis]. You look at [Derrick] White; he's playing at a high level. They have a very talented team. So it's going to be a great test for us on Monday."