Kyrie Irving’s play so far this season has been consistently very efficient for the Dallas Mavericks
As the Mavs prepare to suit up for Thursday’s game against a very poorly performing Jazz team in Utah, they do so knowing that they’ll miss Kyrie Irving, as he was ruled out due to a shoulder strain. By the time this is published, the winner of Thursday’s game will be known. The Jazz most certainly could use another win, but the reigning Western Conference champion Mavericks are also only a game under .500 in just the first eleven games of the regular season. While this doesn’t present an existential crisis, in mid-November, the slow start could come back to bite the Mavs in a few months when teams are jockeying for position in the standings and attempting to avoid the now dreaded play-in.
In the preseason, Luka declared that a major goal for this team was to come out swinging, make an early season statement, and avoid avoidable losses. Unfortunately, that’s not always as easy as it sounds. Not only have they lost some heartbreakers by single digits, but the Mavs have also been without PJ Washington for going on 5 games due a right knee sprain. Lively II missed a few, himself, as well. These are two major contributors to this team’s lineup, two key fixtures in last season’s playoff push. In addition, Luka has dealt with some rust factors early on, on top of his own persistent, nagging injuries, but looks poised to return to form.
The one very consistent, unwavering constant for this team thus far into the short season has been Kyrie Irving’s extremely strong offensive output, something the team would be amiss to replace from a production standpoint had he not been so hot up to now. Heading into Thursday’s game without him will no doubt add minutes for some of the younger guys, thereby (hopefully!) adding some more consistent bench production via the process of sheer opportunity. What it could also do is make a thus far inconsistent team even less so. Statements like that don’t really contribute anything positive or provide content for further thought. It’s just worth considering how effective and important Kyrie has been for this team so far. His leadership and skills weren’t really in question, and it’s not surprising that he’s been playing so well, but the fact that he’s been so locked in provides something to feel good about.
Hopefully the shoulder strain is minor and doesn’t keep him off the court for long. While we’re hoping, let’s also keep our fingers crossed that PJ returns soon and that everyone can just stay healthy. We don’t necessarily need to be hitting our stride right now, but at least being able to tread water at this point is crucial.