One superstar returned from injury for the Mavericks on Wednesday night.
The other one exited.
While Luka Dončić was cleared to play after missing five games with a strained left thigh, Kyrie Irving was ruled out against Golden State with soreness in his right foot.
The Mavericks have had 18 games since Irving joined the team in early February. Dončić and Irving have played together in nine of those. One or both have been out in the other nine games.
Getting the two in sync with the playoffs looming has been dfficult as the Mavericks have navigated various injuries.
“That can be hard, but the communication (is important),” coach Jason Kidd said. “Being able to talk to those two on the side, in the office, being able to talk basketball because we just haven’t had the consistency of having those two on the floor in different situations.
“So you think about Memphis (on Monday). It (would have) helped if we get out of there healthy, win or lose, we have the opportunity to get Luka back and get these two on the floor. But unfortunately we just can’t get those two on the floor at the same time for a length of time.”
Kidd said the Mavericks were holding out hope that Irving could give it a go against the Warriors. But that wasn’t the case.
“There was hope all the way to the point when he was ruled out,” he said. “The last couple days, he’s done his treatment, watched shootaround (Tuesday) and did that again today with the treatment, but isn’t able to go. Hopefully he feels better today and tomorrow and has the opportunity to play against Charlotte (Friday).”
The Mavericks also were without Tim Hardaway Jr., who was out with a non-COVID-19 illness.
Kidd said the medical staff will be smart about usage of players as the injury situation evolves. There were no restrictions on Luka Wednesday, but the Mavericks also weren’t going to do anything crazy, even though it was an important game.
“They’re all important,” Kidd said. “Health is important, too. So we don’t want to sacrifice someone’s health for just one game.
“The big thing is we want to get healthy. We would like to get Kai back. Unfortunately he’s out tonight with the foot. Luka hasn’t played here for 10 days in a game, but he’s been working extremely hard. And he looks great and feels great, so we got to put him in a position to be successful.”
50-50 proposition: There is a possibility that only one team in the Western Conference will win 50 games this season.
The Denver Nuggets have 48 wins with 10 games left going into Wednesday’s action. It’s hard to envision them going 1-9.
But the other teams will have to hustle to make 50 wins. Memphis needs to go at least 6-5. Sacramento must go 7-3 or better. No other team has a shot at 50 wins.
Other than shortened-seasons, the Western Conference has had at least four 50-win teams in seven of nine seasons since 2012.
“Some of it is injury-related,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “A lot of teams have missed guys. And then some of it is just parity. There’s a lot of team that are really competing at a high level.
“And maybe there’s some surprises in there. I think Utah was expected to drop off after all the trades they made and they’re just having a fantastic season. OKC, with their young core, they seem to be a year or two ahead of schedule.”
In other words, some of those teams that maybe others expected to beat have turned out to be tougher than expected.
“There seem to be a lot of teams bunched together, some like us in the waning stages of a run and some maybe at the beginning,” Kerr said. “I guess that’s the parity that, in my mind, is unprecedented.”
New playmaker: Christian Wood has averaged 5.7 assists in the last three games before Wednesday (along with 20 points and 10.3 rebounds).
Kidd said that, with either Irving or Dončić sidelined lately, running the offense through the 6-10 Wood has been a nice additional weapon.
“Playing through C-Wood, he has the ability to put the ball on the floor,” Kidd said. “Being able to use the small-big screen not just to score, but to play-make. He’s shown that here of late to be able to play through him offensively. A lot of times we’re built around Kai and Luka. To have another playmaker, someone we can play through, is helpful.”
Remembering Willis: Hall of Famer Willis Reed passed away on Wednesday at the age of 80.
Kidd, who played much of his career in the New York area for New Jersey and the Knicks, fondly remembered Reed for his dramatic return to the court in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals.
“When you talk about Willis, coming out of the locker room, that’s one of the famous moments for the Knicks,” Kidd said. “Just a gentle giant. One of the best to ever play the game. So to be able to be around him a little when I was with the Nets, he was full of information. But just a positive guy that could make you laugh and you always wanted to be around.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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