{"id":176011,"date":"2026-02-23T02:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T02:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/176011\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T02:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T02:32:11","slug":"injury-fueled-woes-of-mavericks-pacers-are-glaring-example-of-importance-of-point-guards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/176011\/","title":{"rendered":"Injury-fueled woes of Mavericks, Pacers are glaring example of importance of point guards"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 The NBA\u2019s 80th season was still in its infancy stage the last time the Mavericks<\/a> played against the Indiana Pacers in late October.<\/p>\n

Dallas was headlined by Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis, with the hope that Kyrie Irving would return from a torn left ACL in time for a potential playoff run.<\/p>\n

The Pacers were four games into their new life without Tyrese Haliburton, who is sidelined for the entire season with a right Achilles tendon tear. <\/p>\n

Irving has since permanently joined Haliburton on this season\u2019s injury report after the Mavericks announced he would focus on his rehabilitation from surgery for the final 27 games.<\/a><\/p>\n

Mavericks<\/p>\n

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The absence of both lead guards is a primary reason why the runners-up from the previous two NBA Finals have struggled to stay competitive in their respective conferences, which made Sunday\u2019s matchup less than desirable, but a game the Mavericks absolutely needed to right their worst losing streak since 1998.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks snapped their 10-game skid with a 134-130 win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, providing a much-needed boost for team morale in a season decimated by injuries.<\/p>\n

Dallas\u2019 first victory in exactly a month comes at a time when the schedule lightens, with looming games against Brooklyn, Sacramento and Memphis. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said the Mavericks will remain in Indianapolis to practice on Monday since a blizzard in New York City has delayed their travel plans ahead of Tuesday\u2019s game in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks are seemingly headed for another year in the draft lottery without Irving. The Pacers have produced the worst record in the Eastern Conference and second-worst in the NBA without Haliburton.<\/p>\n

Before the game, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle described the importance of elite guard play in the NBA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no substitute for playmakers,\u201d said Carlisle, who coached the Mavericks from 2008 to 2021. \u201cIn Dallas, we had a lot of success over a 13-year period with Jason Kidd, [J.J.] Barea and Devin Harris, who\u2019s sitting right here. It\u2019s just so important to have guys who can make plays and can score, but can also control the game. They can help a team play both fast and be able to work the game a little bit when necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

The absences of both All-Star point guards have contributed to Dallas\u2019 and Indiana\u2019s woeful offenses, which rank 26th and 30th in the NBA, respectively. The Mavericks were 17th in the league in 2024-25 even though Irving missed the final 20 games of the season. <\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

When asked Thursday about Irving\u2019s decision to delay his anticipated return until next season, Kidd said maximizing the 33-year-old\u2019s long-term health is the goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure he\u2019s ready to go for next season,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cFor him, at practice, some of the things that he\u2019s working on, he looks good. I think as we get into March and April, we want him to keep going in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pacers finished ninth in the NBA in offensive rating with Haliburton leading their fast-paced style of play. Carlisle also revealed Haliburton has come down with a case of shingles and will not be with the team for two to three weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cTyrese is a savant type of guy,\u201c Carlisle said. \u201dHe proved that in last year\u2019s playoffs. He really proved it the last two years. We certainly miss him very much.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to survive at a high level without a guy like that is extremely difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dallas has missed Irving as well and Kidd has attempted to weather the storm by using a combination of players at the lead guard spot, including Flagg<\/a>, Brandon Williams, two-way Ryan Nembhard, newcomer Tyus Jones and even forward Naji Marshall.<\/p>\n

After starting Jones, a traditional pass-first point guard, in Friday\u2019s loss at Minnesota<\/a>, Kidd went back to a first unit with Marshall at the point next to Max Christie, who returned from a left ankle sprain. <\/p>\n

The result was efficient despite the lack of a lead guard. Dallas finished shooting 54.3% from the field and 39.3% from beyond the arc with 29 assists. After starting the game with five turnovers, the Mavericks protected the ball and finished with just 11 giveaways on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cI thought the ball-moving, execution was really good on both ends, defensively and offensively. I know we gave up 130. Indiana\u2019s a good team and they play hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

The injury report coming into the game listed 22 players. Kidd knows firsthand how injuries can change a team\u2019s circumstances, especially since the Mavericks have been plagued by the absences of Irving and Dereck Lively II for the majority of the year<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cIndiana was just in the Finals last season, but the injuries, which we both know quite well, can put your team in a different category,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cHaliburton means a lot to them. … They\u2019re looking forward to next season just as we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, the Mavericks will use the rest of the season to evaluate their roster to figure out who best fits around rookie star in Flagg, who missed his third straight game with a left midfoot sprain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Twitter\/X: @MikeACurtis2<\/a><\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s TV\/Radio listings (Feb. 22)<\/a>Mavericks coach Jason Kidd weighs in on NBA\u2019s tanking conversation<\/a><\/p>\n

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 The NBA\u2019s 80th season was still in its infancy stage the last time the Mavericks played…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,2582,103,4280,4641,4281,3080,6536,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-176011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-headlines","10":"tag-dallas-mavericks","11":"tag-dallas-news","12":"tag-jason-kidd","13":"tag-kyrie-irving","14":"tag-mavericks","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-rick-carlisle","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}