Impossible Kyrie Irving decision leaves Mavericks with gigantic problem

The vibe around the Dallas Mavericks has been entirely different ever since Nico Harrison and Rob Pelinka agreed on a trade to send Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick just under two weeks ago, as fans are still furious that the Mavericks decided to give up on Doncic at just 25 years old.

Fans' frustration with this move led to a massive protest outside of the American Airlines Center last weekend before the first home game since the trade and multiple fans being ejected from Monday night's game, and the composition of the team has changed significantly without Doncic on the roster.

Davis' incredible debut helped ease Mavericks fans' minds for about an hour and a half, but after he went down with an adductor injury in the third quarter, fans began to panic again. While Kyrie Irving and company were able to lead the Mavericks to a win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday after Davis got hurt, not having another star in the lineup next to Irving has been putting immense pressure on him, and his minutes per game continue to rise.

Dallas has to find a way to play Kyrie Irving less

Irving is averaging 41.8 minutes per game in February, which is the highest minutes per game in the league for this month. Due to Dallas' lack of guard depth and shot creation with Doncic gone, Irving has to play much more than he is used to and he has to be the entire offensive engine for Dallas.

He has proven that he can do that effectively, as he finished with 30 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and three steals on Monday, but this is a massive workload for him at this stage of his career. Irving will turn 33 years old in just over a month, and he was also dealing with a bulging disk in his back as recently as last month.

While Irving seems to be fully recovered from this back injury, one small tweak can restart the process over again, and the Mavericks have to be careful about how much he is playing on a nightly basis. Jason Kidd is aware of the extended minutes that he is playing Irving, but that seems to be his only choice at this point as his players are going down with injuries left and right, and Dallas is in danger of falling out of the playoff race if they can't string together some wins before Davis returns.

Kidd said he was "concerned" about Irving playing as much as he had before Monday night's game against the Sacramento Kings, but emphasized that Irving hasn't complained about playing these heavy minutes. He said that Irving has been "a pro" throughout this entire process, and one of the other guards has to step up to help take some of the pressure off Irving.

Playing Irving this much every single game is putting him at a higher risk of re-injuring his back or suffering a different injury, and there is truly no right answer to this debacle. Dallas isn't able to sign another player off the open market to fill their final roster spot for some time, and Kidd and Irving are going to have to continue to work with the cards they are dealt.

Kidd has truly been put into an impossible situation this season when it comes to injuries, and an injury to Irving would likely be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Irving being out of the lineup for significant time would likely end their season considering that Davis is going to be out for multiple weeks, and time will tell if Dallas can find a way to play him less.