Kyrie Irving Expected To Miss At Least 1-2 Weeks With Back Injury

Mavericks star Kyrie Irving has been diagnosed with a bulging disc in his back, according to Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who report that the veteran guard is expected to miss at least one-to-two weeks.

There’s optimism that treatment in the coming days will help provide clarity on a return timeline for Irving, sources tell Charania and MacMahon.

While Irving’s injury doesn’t sound serious, it will leave the Mavericks extra short-handed for their next few games. The team is already expected to be without superstar guard Luka Doncic until at least late January due to a left calf strain. With Irving also sidelined, Dallas will be missing a combined 52.4 points per game from its two backcourt stars.

Since Doncic went down in the Christmas Day game, the Mavs are 1-4, having defeated the Suns in Phoenix on December 27 before losing their next four games. Irving missed two of those contests.

The Mavs will be in Memphis on Monday before returning to Dallas for a four-game home stand that features matchups with the Lakers (Tuesday), Trail Blazers (Thursday), and Nuggets (twice, on Jan. 12 and 14). If Irving is out for two weeks, he’ll miss all of those games as well as contests vs. the Pelicans and Thunder before potentially having a chance to return on Jan. 20 in Charlotte.

With guards Doncic, Irving, and Dante Exum (right wrist surgery) all unavailable, the Mavs figure to lean more heavily on Spencer Dinwiddie, Jaden Hardy, and Quentin Grimes. Two-way guard Brandon Williams also played 20 minutes in each of the two games Irving missed in the past week and could reenter the rotation.