There is a reason why claims of Nico Harrison ‘hiding’ in the tunnel for the entire recent Mavericks-Suns game were running rampant today. The Mavs are simply not in a good position, with their downfall taking place since star player Luka Doncic was traded back in early February.
Now, his replacement, Anthony Davis, has been sidelined after being injured indefinitely during his Mavs debut. Kyrie Irving sustained a torn ACL during the 122-98 loss to the Kings, ruling him out for the remainder of the season. If that isn’t enough bad news, the names of Davis and Irving aren’t the only ones on the list. In light of this, Jason Kidd is taking some steps to hold at least a bit of hope during the upcoming games.
The Mavs’ head coach participated in a presser after the 116-125 loss to the Phoenix Suns. The game marked the team’s 5th consecutive loss, reducing their win record to 32-33. During the Q&A session, Kidd indicated that the players who were ‘OUT’ in the recent game will continue being ‘OUT’ for the next one, too.
Kidd confirmed that this meant the limited squad players will have to get “creative” with how they play. He stated, “That’s actually a good question. I don’t know if that’s actually the leg rule. I think if you have 5 you got to play. And all the foul outs count as T. So, if we have 4, then there is something different”. One reporter then joked that maybe Kidd and assistant coach Jared Dudley will also have to descend onto the court to play and cover. However, Kidd hilariously ruled out that option.
“Yeah, yeah we could. But I don’t think we can do that. We’re at the……we can’t sign anybody. Man costs too much,” said Kidd. He said that he had to make some jokes, since “You got to laugh. Cause if you don’t, this will drive you crazy”.
Hope and Jokes. The only thing managing to keep Jason Kidd from losing his sanity. One can sympathize, as hardly any NBA fan would want to take Jason Kidd’s position at the moment. Even as the Mavs lost Luka Doncic, there was still hope that they could pull it together.
That hope went out the window with Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving’s injuries. Now, including the duo, there are now a total of 9 players listed on the Mavs Injury Report. Only one player, Brandon Williams, was holding a ‘Day-To-Day’ status, and even he was ruled out for the rest of Sunday’s game against the Suns due to left hamstring tightness. The decision to bench him was made after he was on the floor for the final seconds of the third quarter.
Jan 6, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd looks on during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
With only 7 players in their arsenal, one can speculate that the season for the Dallas Mavericks is now over. While other teams are making strides to secure a playoff-qualifying seed, the Texas franchise squad has fallen and continues falling.
Criticism against Mavs GM Nico Harrison and the team as a whole is at a high. Resting and recovering from his torn ACL, Irving knows he can’t do much on the court. Therefore, he is at least making efforts to put down any rumors running around about the team.
Kyrie Irving shut down rumors about injury occurring due to increased minutes: “Or did I….”
Before Luka Doncic’s trade and Christmas Day injury, Kyrie Irving’s minutes were on-par with that of his previous seasons. He had reportedly averaged 35.7 minutes and 35 minutes back in December and October. That number increased to 37.1 in January and 39.4 in February.
In light of this, many fans began to speculate whether Irving’s torn ACL was caused by the increased minutes. Even the mpg leaders of the season, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, have averaged 37.9 minutes each till now. However, with the Mavs squad already going through so much, Irving may not have wanted unconfirmed rumors to affect them further.
In light of this, the 32-year-old recently took to his official Instagram account to share a story for his 20.2 million followers. He highlighted the moment of his injury and wrote the following caption: “Too many minutes??? Or did I get knocked off balance?”. With that one statement, Irving affirmed the belief that he wasn’t holding the Mavs accountable for what happened.
Kyrie Irving via IG: “Too many minutes??? Or did I get knocked off balance?” pic.twitter.com/HJFoV8RoF7
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) March 8, 2025
Do you believe Jason Kidd and the Mavs squad have a few better days ahead of them? Let us know in the comments section below.
The post Jason Kidd Reveals Sole Solution to Keep His Sanity Amid Crisis as Kyrie Irving Relieves Mavs of Accusations appeared first on EssentiallySports.