‘Eye-Opening Lessons’: Kyrie Irving Shares Takeaways From Dallas Mavericks’ Preseason
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks still have work to do on their rotations and communication after a 1-3 preseason, Kyrie Irving said after practice Monday, two days before the opener at the Houston Rockets.
Irving played in two of the four exhibition games, his first action since he tore his left ACL on March 3, 2025. He scored 17 points in Dallas’ only win, 132-115 over Houston in Macao on Oct. 11. In Friday’s 135-111 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, he had 18 points and 5 assists in 17 minutes on 6-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
Kyrie Irving On What The Dallas Mavericks Need To Clean Up
Dallas added several new players this offseason, including rookies Morez Johnson Jr. and Sergio de Larrea and forward Santi Aldama. Irving said the group needs to give each other grace while the expectations stay high.
“We still have a lot to get better at, especially our rotations, our communication out there, a few breakdowns that we can definitely clean up,” Irving said. “But we have new faces in the locker room. It’s going to take a little bit of time. So we just got to give each other a lot more grace, but the expectations are still going to be on us, and we know that. So we relished in the challenge, but we have a lot of ground that we got to make up very quickly.”
“And I think preseason gave us a chance to do that. But traveling over to China and then coming back home kind of messed up our sleeping schedule a bit,” Irving continued. “But now getting into the flow of things, we’re just excited to start on the 21st.”
The Mavericks played both Macao games against Houston on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11, then hosted the New Orleans Pelicans at American Airlines Center three days after the second one. Dallas allowed 135 points in two of its four preseason games.
The preseason went well for Irving personally, he said, and there have been no restrictions on him. He is approaching his return day by day and game by game.
Irving On Atlanta, Houston, And Ball Pressure
Atlanta and Houston both pressure the ball. Dallas has spent practice time getting ready for how those defenses will play it, according to Irving.
“They were very, let’s say, eye-opening lessons, just because when you’re going to get some of the best defenders in the world, you definitely want to show your stuff,” Irving explained. “But I think conserving energy and getting off the ball and being able to set great screens and do the little things to make the defense kind of figure out where you are.”
“They’ve got great defenders, but I think for us in practice, we’ve made it a very concerted effort to be aware of how they’re going to play us and the adjustments we need to make in the game,” Irving added.
Cooper Flagg had 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists against Atlanta. Irving expects defenses to load up on the two of them, and he said Dallas has a mix of players who create and players who need to be set up.
“It’s not so much about what I see. It’s really just heightening our awareness of what our skill set is out there, or what our skill sets are as a group,” Irving said. “We have a few guys that can play with the ball in their hands and be creative, and we have a few guys that need to be set up, so just got to find that balance and conserve our energy out there for each other.”
Tip-off Wednesday at Toyota Center is set for 7:30 p.m. CT. Dallas then visits the Indiana Pacers on Friday.
