In Monday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks’ star Kyrie Irving experienced a horrifying knee injury that deepened the team’s injury issues. The Mavericks, who have already experienced a series of setbacks, might now lose one of their top players at a critical time in the season.
The injury came towards the end of the first quarter when Irving penetrated the lane and seemed to have run into big man Jonas Valaniūnas. However, the issue was when Irving took his subsequent step, leading his left knee to buckle strangely. The vision of him holding on for his life immediately prompted alarm.
In spite of the clear distress, Irving was able to stay on the floor to shoot his free throws. With the help of teammate Anthony Davis and a Mavericks staff assistant, he limped to the line before making a beeline for the locker room. Shortly thereafter, the team declared him out for the remainder of the game, having diagnosed him with a left knee sprain.
The incident was hauntingly similar to Kobe Bryant’s infamous 2013 Achilles injury when he hobbled to the free-throw line despite a season-ending tear. Although an initial diagnosis of a sprain is some relief, it might still keep Irving out for a considerable amount of time, which would be an enormous blow to an already injury-plagued Dallas team. The Mavericks’ 119-107 defeat to the Kings left them with a 32-30 record, and they fell to the 10th seed in the Western Conference.
After the game, head coach Jason Kidd had to admit that the team is on an unlucky run of injuries, hoping that Irving’s situation is not that bad.
“Just unlucky. Hope that he’s healthy and it’s not bad,” Kidd stated. “The injuries that we’ve had this year, guys are trying to hang in there to get other bodies back. And it just seems like every time we’re getting close to getting someone back, someone goes down. We’re running low on bodies here, but guys keep grinding.”
The range of knee sprains can be extreme, resulting in anything from a temporary absence to a prolonged recovery. Losing Irving for any duration would be catastrophic for Dallas, as the nine-time All-Star has averaged 25 points per game. The organization is already without Anthony Davis, one of the returning players in the Luka Dončić blockbuster trade, as well as Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II.
And to add insult to injury, PJ Washington also suffered an ankle injury last weekend against Milwaukee and didn’t play on Monday. Caleb Martin, who was picked up in the trade deadline, has not even played a game for the team yet because of an ongoing hip condition.
With Davis, Lively, and Gafford set to be reevaluated on Thursday, the Mavericks are waiting anxiously for updates on several players. Having played just one game with Dallas prior to suffering a groin injury on February 8, Davis in particular has been a major uncertainty. While hopes are that he will be back soon, it won’t be helpful if Irving has to miss time just ahead of Davis coming back onto the court.
The discontent surrounding the much-maligned Donić trade is only compounded by this new setback. The Mavericks are now in a precarious situation and are desperately hoping for good news in the coming days as the postseason fight intensifies and key players are departing like flies.
