DALLAS — When the Dallas Mavericks face the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, it remains to be seen if they will have Kyrie Irving in the lineup as he recovers from a right thumb sprain.
The Mavs submitted an injury report on Thursday that includes Irving as questionable to play. Dwight Powell (left eye corneal abrasion) has already been ruled out, while Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation) is probable.
Irving was initially listed as questionable on the injury report before the Mavs' #-# loss against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. Dallas later ruled Irving out after testing whether he could play after a workout.
With Irving sidelined, the Mavs started Josh Green with a bigger lineup, deploying Derrick Jones Jr. and Grant Williams on the wing.
While it remains to be seen whether Irving will play against the Hawks, he did sound ready to play through injury when discussing how he'll be impacted by it after Monday's 119-110 loss against the Boston Celtics.
“I’m not going to make any excuses for myself,” Irving said on Monday. “It’s going to hurt. I don’t think anybody in the NBA is 100 percent night-to-night. So I’m not going to make any excuses.”
Irving mentioned undergoing an X-ray and wearing a protective brace when discussing his injury. He sounded confident in playing through it but would need to focus on ball placement to avoid his opponent hitting it.
"Yeah, I got an X-ray right after the game. Our doctor said it's just a right-hand sprain," Irving said on Monday. "Just wear this as a protective measure and try to avoid people swiping down the next few games and put the ball in a shot pocket where they can't swipe down, and hopefully, I don't get injured again."
Irving has averaged 25.2 points, 5.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds in 27 games this season. The team has gone 15-12 when he's been in the lineup while having a 9-8 record when he doesn't play. When both Luka Doncic and Irving are available to play, Dallas has gone 12-10 while being 12-8 when both superstars play next to Dereck Lively II.
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