Kyrie Irving Embraces Challenge Against Thunder as Mavericks Rule Out 7 Players: “All-Out Blitz, All-Out Warfare”

The Dallas Mavericks will attempt to bounce back from a 115-114 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves when facing the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night. With it being the second night of a back-to-back, Kyrie Irving’s status as he manages a bulging disc injury was something to monitor.

After scoring 36 points and dishing out nine assists against the Timberwolves, Irving was careful about his answer when asked if he’d play in Oklahoma City, telling reporters his status is “TBD.” The caution was taken because Irving recently expressed he’d “most likely” play against the New Orleans Pelicans on the second night of a back-to-back but ended up not playing. However, he noted that his back was “feeling great,” and he continues to follow his daily protocol to sustain that as he plays through it.

“It’s going well, man. My back feels great,” Irving said after Wednesday’s game. “God willing, just that stays consistent, and I’m just going to continue to do the little things I’ve been doing, man, in the weight room to maintain my health and just make sure I’m giving myself a great chance to sustain the health instead of just, you know, throwing myself out there like a renegade, man.”

While Irving will play in Oklahoma City, the Mavericks will continue to play without Luka Dončić (left calf strain), Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture), Danté Exum (right wrist surgery), Klay Thompson (right ankle sprain), Naji Marshall (illness), Dwight Powell (right hip strain), and Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain).

“Yes, by far the best team depth-wise that we’ve had,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said. “It’s just been stretched a little bit here of late. But no one’s complaining. We got to go and play the schedule, and the goal is to find a way to win, and right now, we’re just coming up short.”

While the Mavericks have gone 4-11 since the game, Dončić went down with an injury on Christmas Day, Irving has done his best to lead. Irving has averaged 28.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in eight games since that period. Without Dončić, Irving fills the role of being the Mavericks’ top option offensively. Irving understands he will command the top on-ball defender the opponent has to offer while drawing aggressive defensive coverages, but he’s embracing it.

“It’s just that part of the game where you have to adjust and be very mature about how you prepare and approach it,” Irving said. “Just don’t lose your joy for the game and your love because, especially me speaking, I’m going to be dealing with some of the best defenders, double teams, and stuff like that.”

With Lively out for potentially up to multiple months and Dončić not expected back until early February before the All-Star break, Irving acknowledged the task ahead would be challenging but encouraged positivity among the group. Irving admitted he woke up to the news of Lively being sidelined for the foreseeable future, which is challenging to process hours before a game.

“It’s gonna be tough, man. The human emotions start settling in,” Irving said. “It’s nothing like waking up from a great rest, and you find out your big fella is going to be out for however long, right? But we got to adjust and that’s going to be the sentiment, man. That’s going to be the same vocabulary I’m going to be using over and over. Hopefully, guys don’t get tired of it. It’s going to be ‘next man up.’ We’re just going to have to figure it out. We got a lot of guys playing that coming into the season, we knew they were going to be impactful, but didn’t think they would be probably starting games or this is the lineup that we’re going to have.”

Irving acknowledged the challenge ahead in a spirited matchup between the Mavericks and Thunder, especially containing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored a career-high 54 points on Wednesday against the Utah Jazz. Oklahoma City is set to play without Chet Holmgren (left soleus strain), Isaiah Hartenstein (right iliac wing fracture), and Isaiah Joe (illness).

“All-out blitz, all-out warfare,” Irving said about facing Oklahoma City. “Anytime we go against OKC, playing against a top MVP candidate like Shai and his team, it’s going to be a great, great competitive challenge, man. So I’m looking forward to it.”

As the Mavericks continue to navigate challenging injuries, P.J. Washington, coming off a 30-point performance, also encouraged positivity, expressing that the team believes in the potential of what they can achieve after getting healthy.

“Obviously it’s a long season. We have a lot more games left,” Washington said. “Guys are going to be coming back from injury pretty soon. So, the season is not over at all. And we have a lot more to show. So, once guys get healthy, we can start rolling again. But right now, we just got to keep fighting each and every night.”

Washington, averaging 15.1 points and 7.6 rebounds since Christmas Day, continues to fill a more prominent role offensively for the Mavericks, often aggressively attacking the paint as one of the team’s few creators amid ongoing injury challenges.

“I feel like he was taking a lot of notes from our Finals last year and our playoffs and seeing the way that some of the best teams in the league guarded him and guarded us as a group,” Irving said of Washington. “When he’s making plays in the paint like that, and he’s able to pass out or get easy baskets, it makes a huge difference for us. He’s getting better, balls in his hands a lot more.”

Irving believes he and Washington have established a better rapport as top offensive options in this temporary version of the Mavericks. However, Dallas will need to rely on Washington in this capacity for the foreseeable future, especially if Thompson or Marshall cannot quickly return to the lineup.

“You can see me and him kind of developing that,” Irving said of Washington. “Like, I want to say one-two punch, but we’re developing that chemistry that we need, especially down the stretch or in games like we have now where majority of the scoring is going to come on our responsibility. I’m grateful that he’s taking the challenge this year and been healthy and been able to carry us through games and just got to stay consistent with him and so stay healthy.”

The Mavericks must rely on players who haven’t filled nearly as significant roles in the NBA as before. Olivier-Maxence Prosper made his second career start on Wednesday, while two-way contract signees Brandon Williams and Kessler Edwards were playing first-quarter minutes.

Irving remains confident in the team’s chances whenever he steps on the floor but is optimistic that the current rotation will get comfortable as they compete in this capacity.

“Anytime I’m in the lineup, or anyone else is, we feel like we have a great chance to win,” Irving said. “It’s the toughest league in the world, but this is what comes with the job, man. This is what the expectations are. We still have to raise our level and just be there for each other a little bit more.

“Our margin for error is a little bit smaller, but that’s okay as well, man,” Irving added. “These guys are going to grow up, and we just got to focus on what we got going on in this locker room and maintain our goals, man, which is to continue to get better.”

Tipoff against the Thunder is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST on Thursday at Paycom Center.