Kyrie Irving: Back injury shouldn’t require surgery

On By Littum

Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving returned to action Tuesday after missing five games with a bulging disc in his back. Speech after the match to journalists, i.a Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning NewsIrving said he “felt a lot better” in his first outing since Jan. 1.

“The last almost two weeks have sucked, to be real with you,” Irving said. “I haven’t really had back problems before, so when I got the MRI back and found out it was a bulging disc, I spoke to a couple of experts; a few doctors; talked to some of my teammates; also talked to some of the guys on our coaching staff who have been dealing with surgery or just dealing with the maintenance of it.

“It’s on and off. So I just have to be very smart about it, but I’m thankful that I got a chance to go out and get some minutes. Tonight really felt like I just bounced off couch and decided to play an NBA game.”

According to Irving, there is not “heavy, heavy concern” among Dallas’ coaches or medical staff about the problem, which does not need to be fixed with a surgical procedure. The eight-time All-Star said the ailment needs to be managed, but he will “most likely” play the other end of the Mavs’ back-to-back set on Wednesday against New Orleans.

“It’s a bulging disc in the back, so you just have to do your best to deal with it,” Irving said. “It is not so far that it is bad enough that I have to have an operation, for which I am grateful to God. But I have the support of our medical staff and a few other people in this locker room who have dealt with the same thing. So just be smart about it.”

The Mavericks have gone 3-6 without Irving this season and 19-12 when he has played. The 32-year-old wasn’t particularly efficient in Tuesday’s loss to Denver with 11 points on 4-of-18 shooting, but his season-long numbers remain impressive — he’s averaging 23.9 points, 4.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game, with a .481/.435/.894 shooting line.

Dallas is expected to be without its top scorer, Luka Doncicuntil at least early February, so having a healthy Irving available to jump-start the team’s offensive attack will be crucial for the next few weeks.

Since Christmas Day, the game in which Doncic strained his calf, the Mavs have an offensive rating of 108.6, the 23rd-best mark in the NBA during that stretch. Before Christmas Day, that mark was 117.4, fourth best in the league.