“ 45 (minutes). It's better than 48. » Jason Kidd prefers to be ironic when it comes to the management of Luka Doncic's playing time. This night in Utah, he was able to rest his superstar in the first quarter, while it is common for the Slovenian to play it in its entirety.
He was able to recover minutes on the bench due to the return of his first lieutenant, Kyrie Irving, who replaced him two minutes from the end of this first period. After twelve missed games due to a heel injury, the Mavs guard returned.
Irving returns, Exum leaves…
“ It helps to have Kai and the others back, so we can consider Luka's rotation early in the season. We'll talk about it and see where it takes us. “, pursue more seriously the Texan coach, whose team was cut by the Jazz (-37!).
The ghost did not weigh very heavily in this heavy defeat conceded. He made a lackluster return, finishing with 14 points (6/14 on shots, including a few missed left-handed finishes in the circle), 9 rebounds and 4 assists. “ Kai was good, getting back into the swing of things. Sometimes there is a natural form of disappointment when a player returns from injury. I thought the group was going to rely on Kai to carry us », Comments Jason Kidd.
“ He's been playing for I don't know how many years now. He missed 12 games, but I think he will adapt well. He's watched us at every practice, so he knows what we do and how to fit in », predicts Dante Exum who took advantage of the absence of Kyrie Irving to sign undoubtedly his best career streak in the NBA. But hit… in the heel last night against his former team, he had to leave his training prematurely.
A not serious but annoying injury
Despite this difficult return on a collective level, the NBA champion with the Cavs, who admits to having been nervous, sees the positive: this injury is behind him. “ It's the first time in my career that I have had this type of injury, it was unique, I wasn't sure how long I would be unavailable. There was no structural damage, but it was painful. […] You realize the injury is much bigger when you can't put on your other shoe. »
Having now found shoes on his feet, Kyrie Irving can resume his march forward. Without him over these twelve matches, the Texans posted a balanced record of 6 wins for 6 losses.
| Kyrie Irving | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2011-12 | KEY | 51 | 31 | 46.9 | 39.9 | 87.2 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 18.5 |
| 2012-13 | KEY | 59 | 35 | 45.2 | 39.1 | 85.5 | 0.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 22.5 |
| 2013-14 | KEY | 71 | 35 | 43.0 | 35.8 | 86.1 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 6.1 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 20.8 |
| 2014-15 | KEY | 75 | 36 | 46.8 | 41.5 | 86.3 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 21.7 |
| 2015-16 | KEY | 53 | 32 | 44.8 | 32.2 | 88.5 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 19.6 |
| 2016-17 | KEY | 72 | 35 | 47.3 | 40.1 | 90.5 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 5.8 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 25.2 |
| 2017-18 | BOS | 60 | 32 | 49.1 | 40.8 | 88.9 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 24.4 |
| 2018-19 | BOS | 67 | 33 | 48.7 | 40.1 | 87.3 | 1.1 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 6.9 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 23.8 |
| 2019-20 | BRK | 20 | 33 | 47.8 | 39.4 | 92.2 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 27.4 |
| 2020-21 | BRK | 54 | 35 | 50.6 | 40.2 | 92.2 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 26.9 |
| 2021-22 | BRK | 29 | 38 | 46.9 | 41.8 | 91.5 | 0.6 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 5.8 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 27.5 |
| 2022-23 * | All Teams | 60 | 37 | 49.4 | 37.9 | 90.5 | 1.0 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 27.1 |
| 2022-23 * | BRK | 40 | 37 | 48.6 | 37.4 | 88.3 | 1.0 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 27.1 |
| 2022-23 * | DAL | 20 | 38 | 51.0 | 39.2 | 94.7 | 1.1 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 27.0 |
| 2023-24 | DAL | 17 | 32 | 47.1 | 38.4 | 90.3 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 23.0 |
| Total | 688 | 34 | 47.2 | 39.1 | 88.5 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 23.4 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
