The Dallas Mavericks finally seem to be trending in the right direction. After a dreadful start to the season, with Anthony Davis missing games, Cooper Flagg taking time to acclimate, and victories hard to come by, the organization made a rapid decision to fire general manager Nico Harrison.
The changing of the guard seems to have brought a change in the level of play on the court as well. Going 6-2 over their last eight games, they have inched closer to turning around the early-season debacle. But their hopes of competing for championships still rest heavily on how soon Kyrie Irving can make his return.
Could Kyrie Irving Return Sometime This Season?
Last year, before the infamous trade that potentially set the franchise back half a decade, an injury to Luka Dončić led head coach Jason Kidd to lean heavily on his other star guard. Unfortunately, that increased burn took a toll on Irving.
Averaging close to 40 minutes a game for an extended period of time finally caused his body to break down, and a torn ACL took him out for the season. Given the timing of the injury, his status for this season remained unclear.
While certainly not making it back in time for opening day, the second half of the year wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibility. However, so far, there have been no rumblings about what a potential return date could look like for the former NBA Champion.
Finally, after their sixth win in eight games in an overtime thriller over the one-seeded Detroit Pistons, Kidd spoke about the recovery process for his superstar point guard. Talking to reporters after the game, he at least gave a vague idea about where Irving currently stands in his road to recovery.
“There’s no schedule still. He’s just still doing the things he’s supposed to,” he began. “His spirits, he’s in a good place. He’s rehabbing, and so that’s all he is doing. That’s the only update I can really give you.”
However, he did promise to provide another update in a month or so. Before their recent surge, the growing sentiment across the league was that the franchise was headed towards a fire sale.
With a bunch of veterans on the roster who could provide a meaningful contribution to multiple teams in the championship bubble, a teardown seemed likely, especially with the team going nowhere and a new timeline in place with Flagg at the helm.
Their recent success might cause a change in those plans. But the timeline for Irving is also going to give fans a reasonable idea of what to expect from the Mavericks over the second half of the season.
