Jason Kidd's honest admission on Kyrie Irving return in Mavericks' loss to Nuggets
Today at 02:00 AM
The Dallas Mavericks received some very welcome news on Tuesday night, as Kyrie Irving returned from a five-game absence due to a back injury. Irving’s return, however, did not result in a victory, as the Denver Nuggets, buoyed by a season-best 45-point outburst from Jamal Murray, took a 114-99 win over the Mavericks to hand Dallas its seventh defeat over the past 10 games.
It doesn’t look as though the back injury Irving suffered through will limit his workload moving forward; he played a team-high 30 minutes, although like the entire Mavericks team, he wasn’t very effective in his time on the hardwood, putting up just 11 points on an abhorrent 4-18 shooting night. Regardless, head coach Jason Kidd is happy to get one of his star guards back on the court and chalked up his struggles to some rust that he will shake off eventually.
“I thought he was fine. Got great looks. Some of those that he normally makes he did not make tonight… Out for five games… It was good to have him back,” Kidd said, per Joey Mistretta, Mavericks beat reporter for ClutchPoints.
Considering the Mavericks’ roster construction, it will be crucial for them to get Irving and Luka Doncic back on the court together the soonest they can. With Irving back, Doncic is the only major piece the Mavs are waiting for, although the Slovenian star is still dealing with his calf injury and is not expected to be back until around late January or early February.
With the Western Conference being as cutthroat as ever, the Mavericks can ill-afford any more prolonged absences from their two best players. They’ve already fallen to sixth in the standings with their 22-18 record, and now, it remains unclear if Irving will be healthy enough to suit up on the second night of a back-to-back.
Mavericks look to return to winning ways tomorrow night against the Pelicans
There is no such thing as being too cautious for a team that’s looking to get over the hump and win a championship. For the Mavericks, it won’t be a surprise whatsoever if they end up deciding to hold Kyrie Irving out of their Wednesday night contest against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Nonetheless, according to Mistretta, Kidd said that “hopefully” Irving will be cleared to play tomorrow, although they will be traveling to New Orleans for that contest. Consider Irving to be questionable at best for now for that upcoming matchup.
The post Jason Kidd’s honest admission on Kyrie Irving return in Mavericks’ loss to Nuggets appeared first on ClutchPoints.
