4 Mavericks who must step up immediately to save season after Kyrie Irving's injury

The basketball gods continue to haunt the 2024-25 regular season for the Dallas Mavericks, as it was reported that Kyrie Irving will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL injury.

The season for the Mavericks has been everything but organized, from a long lingering illness, to the Luka Doncic trade, to now an absolute gut punch with Irving missing the rest of the season. Irving gave us vibes of what Klay Thompson did back in the 2019 NBA Finals, when he tore his ACL, came back onto the court, shot both free throws and came out of the game.

It was a moment that fans at the American Airlines Center who got to witness in person will never forget, and it was a moment special to Irving as well. He gave his all this season, and it's a shame it came to an end like this.

4 Key Mavericks who have to step up with Irving out for the year

Dallas enters the final month of the season in a tough position, and Jason Kidd will be pushed to the limit even more to get the most out of his roster.

This means some players will be in an unprecedented position with now Irving out and Doncic wearing purple and gold. Here are four players that will have to step up big in the absence of Irving in an effort to help earn the Mavericks a playoff spot for the second year in a row.

4. Naji Marshall

Naji Marshall is playing some of the best basketball in his career in his first season with Dallas. Since the beginning of the season, Marshall has shown us his versatility playing with the size of a forward but driving to the rim like a guard.

He's not always the main guy to bring the ball up the court, but he's been someone who's reliable in a late shot clock to get something going when everybody else seems like they're out of options.

Marshall is averaging 11.1 points a game and shooting 49 percent from the field, his best numbers in his NBA career. He's going to be a key factor for the Mavs to have any hope in saving their playoff hopes.

3. Spencer Dinwiddie

Spencer Dinwiddie has become a household name with Mavs fans for the past few years.

He's not going to be able to recreate the same style of Irving's dribbling and shooting, but his production is going to be key moving forward.

Dinwiddie has come a long way from the beginning of the season, after all, Kidd revealed back in November that the plan wasn't to play Dinwiddie as much as they had. He was forced to with Dante Exum dealing with a long-term wrist injury.

With Dinwiddie still expected to play more minutes than Jaden Hardy, Dinwiddie has become the de facto key one guard moving forward.

2. Klay Thompson

Irving's injury was extremely heartbreaking for Klay Thompson, as the two guys he came to Dallas for are not going to finish out this season.

We all know what Thompson can do. He can get hot in a flash, and a successful formula this season has been to feed the four-time NBA champion early and often. Obviously in today's NBA, nothing is safe. A 20-point lead to start the fourth quarter is no longer safe, but it's Thompson's individual play that can go a long way to help lead the team in the right direction.

1. P.J. Washington

With Anthony Davis still out with an adductor injury, this list of Mavericks needed to step up is about the now, because they have no time to waste.

P.J. Washington has arguably become the fan favorite and the main enforcer that Dallas has long needed. Dallas needs the hustle and heart of Washington to lead the Mavs into the playoffs.

For a while, Washington played the role as the third option to Doncic and Irving with Thompson taking his time to get adjusted to his new team. Now, it's Washington who will be looked at as the main scoring option, at least until Anthony Davis gets back.

Before the season started, no Mavs fan could've predicted that their two superstar duo wouldn't finish the season together, but here we are. These are the weapons that the Mavs have now, and they are all key to the Mavs making a last ditch effort into the playoffs.