Mavs Keep Fighting, But Injuries 'Taking a Toll'; Dallas Needs Kyrie Irving Back

The Dallas Mavericks have done a decent job fighting through several unfortunate injuries this season, but now, after their recent two-game skid, they could really use the return of their star point guard Kyrie Irving.
Mavs Keep Fighting, But Injuries 'Taking a Toll'; Dallas Needs Kyrie Irving Back
Mavs Keep Fighting, But Injuries 'Taking a Toll'; Dallas Needs Kyrie Irving Back /
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DALLAS – The Dallas Mavericks have an 18-14 record through 32 games, which is something most fans probably would've been happy with if they'd been told that would be the case before the season began. That Dallas has been able to have the success it has despite having a handful of key contributors sidelined with injuries makes the start even more impressive and strengthens Luka Doncic's MVP case.

However, after initially keeping their heads above water in December, the Mavs seem to have reached their limit when it comes to playing shorthanded, as they've now lost five of their last seven games. They have a 7-8 record in December and must defeat the Golden State Warriors on Saturday to break even heading into the new year.

Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans
Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports

The latest loss came with both Doncic and Kyrie Irving being out, as the undermanned Mavs put up a good fight against the best team in the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves, but ultimately came up short, 118-110.

“Just making sure we stay together, stay connected. I think we did a great job of that. We’re dealing with a lot of injuries right now. Guys are starting to come back. We’re just doing a great job of staying connected and competing," said Tim Hardaway Jr., who finished with a team-best 32 points on 11-19 shooting. With that being said, though, Hardaway admits that Dallas' margin for error has been razor thin.

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“It showed tonight," Hardaway said of the injuries taking a toll on the Mavs. "It kills me to see Ant-man (Anthony Edwards) go 14 of 18 (from the free-throw line). Us turning the ball over (18) times. That’s not a recipe for success, especially when you have a lot of men out. Overall, I thought we did a great job of competing and giving ourselves a chance.”

The good news for the Mavs is that Irving is close to making his anticipated return to action after missing the last 11 games to a heel contusion he suffered on Dec. 8 against the Portland Trail Blazers. It has yet to be determined if Irving will return on Saturday in San Fransisco or not, but he will be back on the court sooner than later, and that's something the Mavs – and Doncic, specifically – sorely need in order to get things back on track.


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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.