Mavericks' Jason Kidd drops encouraging Kyrie Irving injury update, but there's a catch
Yesterday at 06:54 PM
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks are set to host the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night. Mavs head coach Jason Kidd provided a Kyrie Irving injury update before the game while speaking to reporters.
“He looks great,” Kidd said of Irving. “Physically he looks great… Hopefully here soon he starts to do some basketball stuff and see how his back reacts to that.”
The Mavericks will be without Irving due to a lumbar back sprain on Thursday. Although it is certainly good news that Irving “looks great,” the fact that he has not yet begun doing “basketball stuff” is fairly concerning. When Irving initially suffered the injury, the expectation was that he would miss one to two weeks. It remains to be seen if he will miss more time than that, however.
The Mavs will also be without Luka Doncic and Dante Exum on Thursday, but Daniel Gafford is available after initially being listed as questionable due to a left ankle sprain. Gafford’s return will be important, but Dallas is hopeful that the other injured players can return sooner rather than later.
Will Mavericks star Kyrie Irving return from injury soon?
As mentioned, Kidd’s Irving injury update is encouraging for the most part, with the aforementioned catch. Still, it doesn’t provide much of an update from a timeline standpoint.
The Mavericks need Irving to return as soon as possible. Doncic likely won’t return until late January at the earliest, so having Irving back sooner rather than later will be pivotal. The Mavs have struggled for the most part in recent action, so they will need players such as PJ Washington and Klay Thompson to step up amid Irving and Doncic’s injury absences.
The Mavericks will host the Trail Blazers on Thursday night. Dallas will attempt to take care of business in front of their home fans. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM EST.
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