Mavericks’ thin backcourt risks putting Kyrie Irving in another dangerous spot

As things currently stand, the Dallas Mavericks are extremely thin at the point guard position, as 34-year-old Kyrie Irving will be backed up merely by Marcus Sasser and No. 25 overall pick Sergio De Larrea, inevitably giving Irving a huge workload to shovel, which could put him in jeopardy of suffering another serious injury as he did in March of 2025.

Let's be clear, this isn't to say anyone is manifesting that Irving gets hurt again, as that would be a gut-punch for the entirety of the Mavericks' fanbase and organization. This also isn't to say injuries are directly correlated to minutes/games played, but there are a few factors here that make it extremely important for Dallas and their training staff to not mismanage this situation with Irving.

Mavericks are in jeopardy of over-exerting Kyrie Irving again

For starters, former Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was extremely reliant on Irving right after the Luka Doncic trade. Yet Dallas' roster had more guard depth at the time compared to currently, with the likes of Jaden Hardy, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Brandon Williams still in the rotation.

In 10 games played after the Doncic trade and before he tore his ACL on March 3, 2025, Irving averaged 39.3 minutes per game. Needless to say, there's no world in which he should be playing that much under new head coach Dusty May and company, but if Sasser and De Larrea can't effectively lead Dallas' second unit, then there's certainly a world in which this could get dangerous, and Irving may have to play nearly the entirety of games like he was during that stretch.

There's still plenty of time before the start of the season for the Mavericks to bring in another guard, but now, in the dog days of the offseason, fans are starting to lose hope for such a move to come through.

Dusty May must get creative or the Mavs will need another guard

There's simply no doubt Irving is going to come into this season at a high level, health permitting, of course, as he's one of the greatest to ever wield the rock and has attacked his rehab relentlessly over the past 16 months, but ultimately his body isn't made of steel.

It wouldn't be surprising if Dallas sits him in one game of some of their back-to-backs this season, but furthermore, they can't let his minutes played cross into dangerous territory. Despite not profiling as contenders, the Mavericks should be trying to win games and push for the playoffs next season, but over-relying on their veteran point guard isn't the formula to achieve this goal.

It'll be interesting to see what kind of wrinkles May can implement to offset some of Irving's workload, as this could involve playing Naji Marshall at point guard for longer stretches, or letting Cooper Flagg run the show at points. Nonetheless, Dallas needs another ball handler and shot creator who can play the one or two consistently, as they are overloaded on the wing, and it currently looks on paper that they'll have to over-exert Irving on some nights to give themselves a fighting chance.

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