Mavs to sit Kyrie Irving, four others in game with NBA Draft implications
Dallas is sitting Kyrie Irving and four other regulars against Chicago in a game with draft implications and with the Mavericks facing postseason elimination if they lose.
Irving is out for Friday’s game to recover from a right foot injury. The others ruled out are Tim Hardaway Jr. with left ankle soreness, Maxi Kleber for right hamstring injury recovery and Josh Green and Christian Wood for rest.
With two games remaining, Dallas is a loss away from elimination for the final spot in the play-in tournament — a year after going to the Western Conference Finals.
Dallas’ decision to rest five rotation players comes with the Mavs and Bulls tied for the 10th-worst record in the NBA at 38-42.
Dallas gets to keep its first-round pick if it’s in the top 10. If it is 11th or lower, it goes to the New York Knicks as part of Dallas’ trade to acquire Kristaps Porzingis in 2019. The draft lottery next month will determine the final order.
The Bulls are locked in to the 10th seed for the final play-in spot in the East and will be without Zach LaVine for left knee injury management and DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Beverley for rest. Alex Caruso is questionable with foot soreness.
Also, Luka Dončić is listed as probable for Dallas with a left thigh injury recovery, though an ESPN report states that he is expected to play just the first quarter. The Mavericks are celebrating the 24-year-old superstar’s home country of Slovenia in their second-to-last home game of the season.
Irving and Dončić played in a 123-119 victory over Sacramento on Wednesday that kept alive Dallas’ hopes for the 10th seed. But Oklahoma City's victory at Utah a day later pushed Dallas to the brink of elimination.
The only path to the postseason for Dallas would be winning both remaining games and OKC losing to Memphis. There’s a strong chance the Grizzlies will be locked into the West's second seed going into the regular-season finale Sunday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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