Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd is trying to assemble a roster besieged by injury as his team sits at No. 10 in the Western Conference, which would have the final spot for the Play-In Tournament.
The Mavs were without Luka Doncic for weeks before they traded him for Anthony Davis. Davis played 31 minutes for Dallas before suffering a left adductor strain that has kept him sidelined. On Monday night, the Mavericks lost Kyrie Irving for the season after he tore his ACL.
A “freak accident” for the Dallas Mavericks
Before the Mavs lost in a 137-107 blowout to the Milwaukee Bucks in front of 17,341 fans at Fiserv Forum, Kidd had a message about playing time with stars. He called Irving’s injury a “freak accident” and argued that playing time did not contribute to the issue.
“We’re talking about one play,” Kidd said via ESPN. “Not many before that. It’s a freak accident, that’s how it should be reported. We’re reporting on conspiracy theories. We want our stars to play. This isn’t supposed to be a rest league.”
Irving played in 50 of the Mavs’ 62 games, averaging 36.1 minutes per contest.
Kyrie Irving didn’t play too much
Kidd thinks it would be hypocritical to blame playing time for Irving’s injury when the narrative around the Association is that players aren’t on the court enough.
“Kai is our leader,” Kidd said. “Kai also was playing at a high level; maybe some of the best basketball that he’s played in his career. We can’t talk from both sides and say our stars don’t play enough minutes and guys don’t play enough. They rest. But now we’re saying they play too much.”
Or maybe he’s being tongue-in-cheek about the Association’s stance on policy.
The NBA changed its policy on rest before the 2023-24 season, making it harder for teams to justify rest for star players and disallowing teams to rest multiple healthy star players at the same time. The key part there is “healthy” as teams still try and get around the rule.
Irving sustained a non-contact injury. That issue could have popped up at any time in the season, regardless of how often he was on the bench.
Still, Injuries do happen. It’s a consequence of playing the sport, which spectators want to watch being operated at a high level.
For More Basketball News:
Follow me on Twitter at @JordanSig. You can also reach out to Jordan Sigler via email at jordanmsigler@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in college and NBA news, click here!
