Mavs' Luka Doncic Injury Status Uncertain vs. Cavs; Kyrie Irving in Ramp-Up Process
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks soon hope to regain reigning NBA All-Star starter Kyrie Irving in the lineup as he works toward a return, but will need to wait longer before it happens. Dereck Lively II returned to the lineup for the 124-112 win over the Phoenix Suns on Christmas Day, but Irving remains sidelined.
Irving isn't the only notable injury status to monitor. Ahead of Wednesday's matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Mavs listed Luka Doncic as questionable (left quad soreness) to play. Dallas already ruled out Irving (right heel contusion), Josh Green (right elbow sprain), and Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation).
Doncic played 44 minutes against the Suns, finishing the night with 50 points, six rebounds, 15 assists, four steals, and three blocks. The Slovenian superstar recently sat out the first night of a back-to-back when the Mavs went on the road to take on the Houston Rockets on Friday. The Mavs played without Dante Exum and Irving, resulting in a very undermanned group producing a poor offensive outing in a blowout loss.
Irving has been in the ramp-up process to return to competition recently. On Saturday, he participated in an on-court workout hours before the Mavs' blowout victory over the San Antonio Spurs. He participated in a shootaround before Monday's game in Phoenix, including a post-shootaround workout.
Irving's injury occurred on Dec. 8 during the Mavs' win over the Portland Trail Blazers when Dwight Powell landed on his leg. After playing 13 minutes, he went to the locker room before being ruled out for the remainder of the game. He traveled to Dallas as the team departed for Memphis for an MRI. He has been recovering since that period.
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With Doncic leading the way, the Mavs initially weathered not having Irving in the lineup after the injury, but it's caused him to play heavy minutes throughout this period. Including achieving a victory closing the game in Portland without him, Dallas went on to win three consecutive games and four of their last five games but then lost three straight games before Saturday's win over the Spurs.
Irving has averaged 23.0 points, 5.2 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in 17 games this season despite dealing with foot injuries dating back to preseason when the team was in Abu Dhabi for the NBA Global Games in part of a 12-day international trip.
Whenever Irving does return to the lineup and the Mavs are healthy overall, the team plans to start Dante Exum and Derrick Jones Jr. alongside Irving, Doncic, and Lively while already moving Grant Williams to the bench.
The Cavs will be without various vital players when they face the Mavs, including Evan Mobley and Darius Garland already being ruled out. The team has designated Donovan Mitchell (illness) and Caris LeVert (left knee tendonitis) as questionable, while Sam Merrill (right wrist sprain) is doubtful.
Check back with DallasBasketball.com for more injury updates ahead of the Mavs and Cavs on Wednesday.
