Kyrie Irving and Draymond Green Headline Another Chaotic 5 PM NBA Injury Report

The 5:00 PM ET NBA injury report is basically a daily hostage negotiation for sports bettors and fantasy managers. Today's high-profile victims are Kyrie Irving and Draymond Green.

Underdog NBA just dropped the late-afternoon update, listing the Dallas Mavericks guard as questionable and the Golden State Warriors forward as doubtful. If you had plans to lock in a clean evening betting slate, go ahead and throw them in the trash.

"Underdog NBA tweeted the 5 ET status update listing Irving as questionable and Green as doubtful."

Irving landing on the injury report is about as surprising as stadium beer being overpriced. The guy has missed at least 15 games in five of his last six seasons. He just dropped 24 points on 5-of-10 shooting from deep in 25 minutes on Friday before fouling out, so the offensive engine is clearly revving when he actually stays on the floor.

Meanwhile, Green is sitting at doubtful, leaving a massive defensive hole for Golden State. This is just the reality of the modern NBA, where we recently saw a slate rule out nearly 30 percent of the entire league. Trying to handicap these matchups before warmups is like trying to defuse a bomb in the dark.

For anyone holding Mavericks or Warriors tickets tonight, you are now entirely at the mercy of the pregame shootaround. Dallas needs Irving's scoring punch to keep pace in the West, and Golden State without Green usually turns into a layup line for the opposition.

Keep your eyes glued to the final inactive list right before tip-off. Until we get the official word from the locker rooms, keep your bankroll holstered and your fantasy lineups flexible.