Kyrie Irving Disputes Idea Knee Injury Was Result of Mavs Playing Him Too Many Minutes

Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL against the Sacramento Kings last Monday, disputed the notion that his injury was the result of playing too many minutes.

Irving showed a picture of the play that led to the injury. The Associated Press provided more details.

"Irving was fouled by DeMar DeRozan on a drive to the basket and his right foot landed on the foot of the Kings' Jonas Valančiūnas," the AP wrote. "He lost his balance and then landed awkwardly on his left leg, and his knee appeared to hyperextend before he fell to the floor."

Irving notably averaged 39.3 minutes per game in 10 contests since Feb. 4, a date that marked his first matchup played after the Mavs traded his backcourt mate, five-time All-NBA player Luka Dončić, per Basketball-Reference. He averaged 35.9 MPG for the season before that date.

The Mavericks have been devastated by injuries, with Irving, Anthony Davis (left adductor strain), Daniel Gafford (right knee sprain), Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture), P.J. Washington (right ankle sprain), Olivier-Maxence Prosper (right wrist sprain), Kai Jones (left quad strain) and Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain) all out.

Irving's injury is particularly upsetting given that he'll certainly be out into next year at this point. He was an invaluable part of the team's run to the NBA Finals last season alongside Dončić and had been playing well in the post-Luka era (28.1 PPG in his last 10 full games).

Unfortunately, Irving is now sidelined, and the Mavs are left wondering about their future as everything has gone horribly wrong for the team in the past month-plus.