Kyrie Irving Re-Aggravates Foot Injury; Will Luka Doncic Play vs. Warriors?

Will the Dallas Mavericks have either Kyrie Irving or Luka Doncic available to play when they play the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday?

MEMPHIS — The Dallas Mavericks have played without Luka Doncic for each of their previous five games due to a quad injury, including Monday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. When will he be able to return to game action?

"He's doing everything, rehab on-court and off. He’s going in the right direction, so hopefully soon," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said before Monday's loss to teh. "Again, day-to-day, but I think these last couple days have been really, really good, so we’ll see how he feels tomorrow."

Based on Doncic being upgraded to questionable on the injury report before Monday’s game, there is increasing optimism that he could make his return to the Mavs' lineup on Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors.

Doncic was a full participant in the Mavs' most recent practice and was getting in extra work at the shootaround in Memphis. Based on track record, that is a positive sign regarding a potential return to game action soon.

Mavericks’ Luka Doncic getting some shots up from 3-point attempts at the team’s morning shootaround in Memphis. pic.twitter.com/I6TXKXBkcr

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) March 20, 2023

Irving re-aggravated his right foot injury after getting his foot caught up on Brooks' when trying to get open. Irving told reporters that his walking boot is "just precautionary" and he will "exhaust all my options possible" in order to play on Wednesday against the Warriors in a game with big playoff implications. 

“I just got to make it back home to Dallas and then start my recovery work and do everything I can to prepare for the next game,” Irving said. “Take time to rest and exhaust all my options possible to be ready to play the next game.”

When discussing the cause of the injury, Irving made clear that he didn't feel Brooks tripped him up intentionally. He felt it was just "bad timing" and the game goes beyond his injury status. 

“I would’ve felt different up here if I feel he did it on purpose, but I didn’t,” Irving said. “It’s just one of those plays where he’s trailing me, and I think his feet got caught up in mine and twisted my ankle. Just bad timing, but the game has to keep going.”

The main concern regarding Irving's status is that he already was questionable to play entering Monday's game. Doncic is trending toward making his return, but the status of both players remain important to monitor.

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