Mavs' Kyrie Irving Ruled Out vs. Magic; 5 Players on Injury Report
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks will face the Orlando Magic on Monday night without Kyrie Irving in the lineup. As he continues to deal with a right thumb sprain, he was already ruled out on the Mavs' injury report submitted on Sunday evening.
In addition to Irving being listed as out, the Mavs consider Dante Exum (right knee soreness), Derrick Jones Jr. (left wrist sprain), and Dwight Powell (left eye corneal abrasion) as questionable to play against the Magic. Maxi Kleber (right small toe soreness) is probable to be available.
Before Irving's first game sidelined due to his thumb injury, and he was initially considered questionable on the injury report. He was later described as being set to warm up to determine if he could give it a go before being ruled out. He is set to miss his fourth consecutive game.
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Irving became injured during the Mavs' 119-110 loss against the Boston Celtics on Monday. He sounded like he felt he could power through the injury despite the pain caused, but he has yet to return to the lineup.
“I’m not going to make any excuses for myself,” Irving said on Monday. “It’s going to hurt. I don’t think anybody in the NBA is 100 percent night-to-night. So I’m not going to make any excuses.”
In the same post-game press conference, Irving mentioned undergoing an X-ray and wearing a protective brace when sharing details about his injury. He highlighted the need to focus on ball placement to avoid his opponent hitting his injured thumb during upcoming games.
"Yeah, I got an X-ray right after the game. Our doctor said it's just a right-hand sprain," Irving said on Monday. "Just wear this as a protective measure and try to avoid people swiping down the next few games and put the ball in a shot pocket where they can't swipe down, and hopefully, I don't get injured again."
Irving has averaged 25.2 points, 5.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds in 27 games this season. The team has gone 15-12 when he's been in the lineup while having a 9-9 record when he doesn't play. When both Luka Doncic and Irving are available to play, Dallas has gone 12-10 while being 12-8 when both superstars play.
Doncic, already a high-usage player, shouldered an even heavier load when Irving was sidelined, averaging 37.1 points, 11.1 assists, and 9.1 rebounds in 40.1 minutes per game during those 17 games. Doncic played 91 minutes combined during a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, including a victory against the Atlanta Hawks and a loss versus the Sacramento Kings. His fatigue levels are something to monitor.
“I’m tired. I can’t wait to go to sleep, honestly,” Doncic said. “It’s hard. It was less than 24 hours. I played like 90 minutes. It was a lot. Obviously, I was questionable, but I wanted to play.”
A lack of consistent availability of both superstars has continued to be a problem for Dallas since trading for Irving. The team is set to have Irving and Doncic available in just 38 of 74 possible games since Irving's Mavs debut on Feb. 8, 2023, while having them both for 22 of 47 games this season.
