Mavericks' season hinges on cold hard Kyrie Irving truth no one wants to accept

The Dallas Mavericks are entering a transformative season with Cooper Flagg's anticipated professional debut, generating significant excitement among fans. However, the team will start the regular season without Kyrie Irving, a key player whose tenure with the Mavericks has included both playoff misses and an NBA Finals appearance.

Irving suffered a career-altering ACL tear in early March, undergoing surgery in April, which is expected to sideline him for much of the upcoming season. Although rehabilitation is progressing well, he will likely miss 60 or more games due to the typical 11-month recovery timeline. At age 34 upon his return, questions remain about his ability to regain peak performance this season.

If Irving misses over 60 games, he would have only about 20 games to regain conditioning and refine skills in roughly six weeks. Additionally, he is expected to sit out back-to-back games to minimize reinjury risk, potentially further limiting his availability. This compressed timeline raises doubts about his readiness for the playoffs, contingent on both his recovery and the Mavericks maintaining competitiveness.

During Irving's absence, the Mavericks signed D’Angelo Russell to bolster their backcourt, while head coach Jason Kidd plans to develop Cooper Flagg as a primary ball-handler and point-forward. This strategy aims to maintain offensive flow and accelerate Flagg’s integration into the team’s system.

While fans hope for Irving’s return around the All-Star break with the Mavericks in playoff position, the team faces significant challenges to achieve this. Although an accelerated recovery is possible, the organization emphasizes caution against rushing Irving back prematurely to avoid compromising his long-term health.