The curse of the Dallas Mavericks has been bizarre to witness. Ever since the bombshell trade of Luka Dončić became official, the team is seemingly coming apart at the seams, with players falling to injury one after the other.
Key rotational players like Daniel Gafford, Derrick Lively Jr., and Jaden Hardy were injured even before Anthony Davis was potentially injured for the season.
Their next blow came when Kyrie Irving was injured against the Sacramento Kings and diagnosed with a torn ACL. While fans criticized Irving’s workload, head coach Jason Kidd didn’t buy into that theory.
Jason Kidd Isn’t Blaming Workload for Kyrie Irving Injury
Over the years, load management has become a significant part of basketball conversation, reducing the average number of minutes players play. As a result, it is rare for coaches to play their players excessive minutes.
However, while a coach like Tom Thibodeau is infamous for pushing heavy minutes, Jason Kidd has employed a similar strategy as a head coach. Irving is the latest example. The superstar point guard was averaging 36 minutes per game, which was up to 39 mpg over the last 12 games.
As a result, many fans believe the excessive workload may have led to the ACL injury that will keep him out for this season and a large chunk, at the very least, of next season as well.
However, Kidd doesn’t subscribe to that mindset. Speaking to the Dallas News, he said, “The load didn’t have anything to do with the injury. We’re talking about one play. It’s a freak accident. That’s how it should be reported, but we’re not reporting it right. We’re reporting on conspiracy theories.”
Instead, he defended the idea of playing his stars high minutes, stating, “We want our stars to play as many minutes [as possible]. This isn’t supposed to be a ‘rest’ league. Kai [Irving] is our leader. Kai was playing [high] minutes. He also was playing at a high level, maybe some of the best basketball that he’s played in his career.”
Dropping off the baggage associated with him in the past, Irving had remade his reputation in Dallas and was on one of the best stretches of his career. Thanks to his play, the Mavericks were in the NBA Finals just last season.
But, with the injury, it puts his and Dallas’ future at risk. With both Davis and Irving both on the wrong side of 30 when they next suit up, their time in the sun could be close to an end, especially with their injury histories.
