Dallas Mavs LISTEN: Luka Doncic & Kyrie Irving Injuries Cause for Concern?

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are nursing what appears to be minor injuries ahead of the Dallas Mavericks' season opener against Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs next week.

Dalton Trigg | Oct 17, 2023

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Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks have several questions to answer, and one of those questions is whether or not they can stay healthy for the duration of the upcoming 82-game season. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving each had to battle through nagging injures at the end of last season, which contributed to the Mavs ultimately missing the postseason. Now, with opening night just eight days away, injury concerns have popped up again.

Doncic recently had an MRI that revealed a left calf strain, the same injury he had at the end of the 2021-22 regular season that caused him to miss the first three games of the Mavs' first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz. Doncic has also dealt with a left thigh injury dating back to the end of last season, and also as recently as this past summer at the FIBA World Cup. Although Dallas' superstar claims that his calf strain "nothing serious," it's certainly something we'll be keeping an eye on throughout the season.

Dallas Mavericks, Jason Kidd, Kyrie Irving — Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd draws up a play in the huddle / Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Irving has dealt with groin soreness, which has caused him to miss the last two preseason games, but all signs point to the Mavs just being extra cautious there. Irving was a full participant in practice on Monday, so the expectation is that he'll be ready to roll once the Mavs open the season against Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 25.

On the latest episode of the Mavs Step Back Podcast, my DallasBasketball.com colleague Grant Afseth joins me to discuss these recent Mavs injury developments, as well as his film breakdown on rookie big man Dereck Lively II's chances of being a difference-maker as Dallas' defensive anchor despite just being 19 years old.

You can watch and listen to today’s full episode below. As always, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to hit that subscribe button on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Published Oct 17, 2023

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.