Dallas Mavs Downgrade Kyrie Irving Injury Status Before Facing Chicago Bulls
DALLAS — Hours before the Dallas Mavericks faced the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, the team added Kyrie Irving to the injury report with a left foot sprain. He was later ruled out and continues to deal with the ailment.
Ahead of Wednesday's matchup against the Chicago Bulls, the Mavs downgraded Irving from being questionable to doubtful to play.
When Irving woke up on Monday, he felt "a little discomfort" about his left foot sprain. There wasn't a definitive timeline of when the injury occurred, but Mavs coach Jason Kidd expressed it's possible it occurred in the team's home opener against the Brooklyn Nets.
"Kai's left foot sprain — he's out for tonight," Kidd said. "I think he did it in the [Brooklyn Nets] game. This morning, he just felt a little discomfort. He came to shoot around, and we listed him as questionable."
Irving has appeared in two games this season, averaging 19.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 6.0 assists. He's shooting 39.0 percent from the floor and 16.7 percent from 3-point range. After his most recent performance, he mentioned the need to get his legs back in proper form after dealing with a groin injury in preseason.
"I tried my best to be present and keep a seriousness about myself just to get ready. For me, [I need to] get my legs underneath me," Irving said on Friday. "It's my third game. I wish I had more time in the preseason; just trying to get in better shape and get my balance underneath me.
"It's just a lot of shots that I'm missing short, and when you're missing short, you just got to continue to go into the weight room, continue to do the work that got you here, and continue to trust, and that's what I've been doing."
The Mavs return to action on Friday when they take on the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena, marking the first of their NBA in-season tournament games. Irving's status will be a top storyline to monitor leading into the matchup.
