Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks' biggest star and one of the team's emotional leaders, suffered an ACL injury in the third quarter of their March 3 game against the Sacramento Kings. It was an event that drastically lowered Dallas' ceiling and only further compounded the issues already faced by the embattled franchise after their shocking decision to deal Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dallas is now one game away from officially securing a postseason spot, with their next challenge being a road matchup against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies. The winner will advance to face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.