Latest Kyrie Irving video should have Mavericks fans feeling optimistic

Irving recently spoke on his Twitch stream about his injury recovery, saying, "I was in the gym, doing a little bit more. That's the second update. I was in the gym, doing a little bit more. I won't tell you exactly what I was doing, because it's all about incremental growth, but I can share with you all is that there were some good days in the gym. I'm healing up great...[at] five months post-surgery."

The belief has been that he would return in January or February. That seemed optimistic given that he's an older and smaller guard who relies on his quickness and elusiveness to create shots, but he could be on pace. The All-Star break always seemed like the more realistic goal, but they'd obviously welcome him back before then if he's 100% healthy.

How Will the Mavericks Survive on Offense Without Irving?

Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks have said a few times that they believe they can contend for a championship this season, even with Irving missing a large chunk of the season. That won't happen unless they can score the basketball, something that is a major concern for this time.

D'Angelo Russell is coming off the worst season of his NBA career, Dante Exum is a flight risk with his injury history, Brandon Williams is a young player who doesn't have a lot of experience, and Jaden Hardy has yet to become a useful NBA player at this point in his career. Those are the options to fill in for Irving.

Cooper Flagg and Naji Marshall can also act as play initiators, and Jason Kidd has said that Flagg will have the ball in his hands a lot early. That won't be enough unless Anthony Davis shows an unforeseen jump in perimeter shooting, something that has never been a strength for him.