Kyrie

Irving

Dallas finished Wednesday’s rout with four 20-point scorers, and the offensive balance has been a trademark of the Mavericks since they lost Luka Doncic to a wrist injury. Irving has been a top-75 player over the last week. While that certainly isn’t great, it’s been good enough to maintain his season-long value, with the veteran guard ranked within the top 15 in 9-cat formats.

Irving wasn’t guaranteed to play on Monday, as an illness landed him on the injury report. He looked fine once the game started, leading all scorers with 32 points while providing solid value in rebounds, assists, and 3-pointers. Irving will continue to have increased value as a scorer while Luka Doncic sits with a sprained wrist.

Initially questionable for Monday’s game, Irving is officially good to go. He’ll continue to lead the way offensively as the Mavericks remain without Luka Doncic (wrist).

It sounds like there’s a bug going around Dallas’ locker room, and Irving and Grimes are in danger of sitting out against the Hawks. Luka Doncic is already out, and Klay Thompson is questionable. Reserves like Jaden Hardy, Naji Marshall and Spencer Dinwiddie could see massive bumps in playing time for the shorthanded Mavs.

With Luka Doncic out of the lineup on Sunday, Kyrie was the No. 1 option on offense for Dallas and led the team with 27 points. He took 21 shots and was only 3-of-12 on attempts from behind the 3-point line. Still, Irving had six assists and was +5 in 39 minutes in the overtime loss. The Mavs have four games in Week 6, starting with the Hawks on Monday in the second game of a back-to-back.

Irving was the primary source of offense in this game with Luka Doncic sidelined, but he wasn’t able to get much going after halftime. He had a layup early in the third and then knocked down two free throws at the end of the game to seal the win. 15 of his 19 points came before the break. Irving’s first game of Luka’s extended absence wasn’t great, but he shouldn’t shoot this poorly often. This was only his second time shooting below 40% from the floor this season, and he should bounce back against Miami on Sunday.

It’s unclear whether this injury could cost Doncic more than one week, but he’s only missed one contest so far this season. His numbers, while still elite, are down across the board in what’s been a middling season for the Mavericks so far. Kyrie Irving will get a chance to power the offense as the team’s clear lead guard in the meantime. Quentin Grimes is a likely candidate to step into the starting lineup.

Although his minutes were lower than usual due to the game being a blowout, Irving provided solid value in points, assists, 3-pointers, and percentages on Tuesday. He remains a top-10 player in 9-cat formats and a top-20 player in 8-cat. Given Irving’s track record, it’s understandable if some managers anxiously await an extended absence for the star guard. But it hasn’t happened yet

With Luka Doncic out Sunday, Irving was expected to take the lead on offense for Dallas. While he led the team in shot attempts, he didn’t lead the team in scoring as PJ Washington had 27 points. Irving had a fairly typical game with 23 points on 18 shots and six assists, but didn’t explode for a big game in Doncic’s absence. The Mavericks have three games upcoming in Week 5.

Doncic struggled in his last game and won’t play against the best team in the Western Conference to wrap up the weekend. Kyrie Irving will become the engine that powers Dallas on offense against OKC’s elite defense. Quentin Grimes seems likely to step into the starting lineup as a fill-in.