Kyrie Irving upgraded to questionable for Tuesday’s game against Denver

Kyrie Irving has been upgraded to questionable for the Mavericks’ game against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, according to coach Jason Kidd after Monday’s practice. Irving was reportedly a full participant during Monday’s session and Kidd told reporters “he looked good.”

Irving last played on New Year’s Day against the Houston Rockets. He has missed the last five games with what the team has called a lower back sprain on the latest injury reports. ESPN’s Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon originally reported that Irving had a bulging disc in his back and would likely be out one to two weeks.

There’s no guarantee Irving will play Tuesday against Denver, but being upgraded on the injury report and Irving returning to full practice is a good sign he’ll be back on the court by Wednesday’s game against New Orleans. It’s a back-to-back coming up, so we’ll see if the Mavericks throw Irving back into it or ease him in.

Dallas desperately needs Irving back while Luka Doncic is still out with a calf strain. Doncic isn’t scheduled to be reevaluated for a few weeks, so Irving’s return would be huge for a Mavericks lineup that has done an admirable job without its stars but really misses the scoring pop that both Doncic and Irving provide. Dallas went 2-3 in the five games Irving missed, and scoring consistency has been by far the biggest issue — Dallas shot just 41.2 percent from the field in Sunday’s 112-101 loss to the Nuggets.

Irving is having another great season in Dallas, averaging 24.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, shooting 52.1 percent on twos and 44.1 percent on threes. The three point tally would be a career high for Irving.