Kyrie Irving & Dereck Lively II injury status for Mavericks-Hornets

On By Littum

The Dallas Mavericks have an early tip against the Charlotte Hornets on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but both teams are dealing with some pretty hefty injury reports. Dallas and Charlotte each have at least three players out, and that could expand depending on game-time decisions.

Starting with Dallas, Luka Doncic remains out after a calf strain he suffered on Christmas Day. The Mavericks are confident he will return before the All-Star break in mid-February, and he no longer uses crutches or a scooter to get around.

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They had two more players go down Friday against the Thunder, with Jaden Hardy suffering his second sprained right ankle of the season and Dwight Powell straining his hip while sliding on a close-out. They will both be out for this game, although no timeline has been established yet. Hardy missed seven games over about three weeks with his earlier ankle injury. Dante Exum is still out after preseason wrist surgery, but he could be back soon.

Dereck Lively II’s status has been upgraded to questionable after missing the last two games with a sprained ankle suffered against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. With Dwight Powell out, Dallas’ center rotation is down to Daniel Gafford and Maxi Kleber, so having Lively back would be huge.

The biggest news is that Kyrie Irving is not listed on the injury report at all for the bulging disc in his back and will be good for Monday’s game. Dallas will still be careful with his workload, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him reappear on the injury report later this week when they have three games in four days, all against good teams.

Charlotte will be without Brandon Miller (right wrist ligament tear), Tre Mann (disc irritation) and former Maverick Grant Williams (ACL tear).

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