At almost six months to the week since he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee, clips are beginning to surface of Kyrie Irving getting some work in on the basketball court. Mind you, he has a long way to go, but seeing Irving shooting and nailing shots from behind the arch (in the below clip) does provide some modicum of comfort that his return to form could come sooner than later. But how close to full form will that be? Obviously, as with any major injury, you don’t want him to rush back or return before
it’s fully healed (i.e. Anthony Davis in his first Dallas Mavericks game, SMH…). But it does appear as if he’s been doing everything within his power these last 6 months to get himself on track for a full (and hopefully speedy) recovery. While being able to hit a jump shot doesn’t translate to lateral quickness, it is nevertheless a good sign to see him this far along in mobility work.
The impact of last season’s blockbuster trade can be seen in equal measures within the team’s stacked front court as well as its depleted back court. Irving’s injury not only spelled doom for the Maverick’s playoff chances last year, it also created a huge question mark for their expectations this coming season. Without a reliable (to say nothing of elite) facilitator/deep threat/drive threat (etc.) to keep the defenses honest, teams will no doubt cheat towards help in the paint in an effort to quell the Mav’s hugely talented (and just plain huge) front court.
The addition of D’Angelo Russell this offseason will serve as something of a stopgap. He can give you 25 minutes and 12 points on the regular, but there’s a reason he’s been moved seven times in ten years. He’s not in the upper echelon of guards. Bringing back Dante Exum will help from a defensive standpoint, but it’s hard to imagine him willing himself into becoming the standout guard that ties everything together for Dallas next season. While I could’ve imagined Jaden Hardy eventually being that player immediately after witnessing his rookie season, it’s not even worth considering at this point. Max Christie? Brandon Williams? TBD. They have enough talent to get by, but with the absence of Irving so soon after Doncic’s departure, the team’s available guard talent has quickly gone from elite to middling.
Be that as it may, if the defense-first roster and mindset Dallas has been working on can be successful enough to get into the playoffs, Irving’s return – if he’s at anywhere near his 100% from the last couple of years – could well be the spark that gets them over the hump. With many assuming that there’s little chance he can return to his previous peak condition at his age after such a serious injury, it’s worth wondering what the chances are that he actually can. I think the real question is, assuming that he doesn’t, how close does he have to get to that peak form to lead them to a championship? His on-court IQ and the overall leadership he’s demonstrated since becoming a Maverick are intangibles that can make up for some small loss of performance speed. Only time will tell whose expectations are the most accurate.
