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Mavericks at Rockets: Money on the Floor, January 31, 2026
Early indications were that Davis would go under the knife and miss multiple months. However, a second opinion was enough to convince Davis to rehab without a procedure. Still, he'll be sidelined for at least six weeks. meaning he likely won't be back until at least early March. Daniel Gafford, Dwight Powell and Moussa Cisse will handle center duties while Davis is sidelined.
Irving tore the ACL in his left knee at the beginning of March, ending his 2024-25 campaign, but after undergoing surgery, the Mavericks said they were optimistic their superstar guard would return to action before 2026, per Shams Charania of ESPN. Before training camp this season, there was another positive update about Irving's recovery, with Ashish Mathur of the Dallas Hoops Journal reporting that the veteran was ahead of schedule in his recovery. However, a few days later, head coach Jason Kidd pumped the brakes, saying Irving is doing "quite well" but added that declaring he was "ahead of schedule is not fair," per Christian Clark of The Athletic. It's clear that Irving and the Mavericks don't want to pick a target date until they are absolutely certain he's ready for game action, but Afseth notes that the vibe around the organization is that Irving could return before the mid-February All-Star break. "I've personally liked, from my understanding of the situation, have long held the thought that there's optimism of a pre-All-Star break return. But that's not ever been like super like that's happening, there hasn't been a set guarantee like anything of that nature," Afseth concluded. NBA insider Marc J. Spears also relayed a promising update on Irving in mid-November, "Kyrie's looking good. He's ahead of schedule," Spears said. "He's working out with the purpose of playing this season, which I'm sure Mavs fans are glad to hear. I think, optimistic-wise, around late-January, All-Star break. Someone close to him told me that if it was the playoffs, he could play right now. That's how ahead of schedule he is." Despite all the optimism, fantasy managers are going to be left in the dark for at least a few more weeks before we learn anything definitive. Irving has been spotted doing light, individual drills at recent practices and is spending a lot of time mentoring Cooper Flagg.
Lively sought out multiple opinions on his right foot, but it was ultimately determined that season-ending surgery was the best course of action for the third-year center, and he's expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2026-27 season. Daniel Gafford and Dwight Powell will continue to serve as the main big men for Dallas behind Anthony Davis in Lively's absence.
Out For Season
D. Exum
Exum needs a follow-up procedure after dealing with complications from offseason right knee surgery, which will keep him sidelined for the remainder of the year. The veteran guard will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Until Kyrie Irving (knee) is cleared to play, D'Angelo Russell and Brandon Williams should continue to share the minutes at point guard.
