Kyrie Irving Returns from 19-Month Absence in Mavericks' New Starting Lineup

The Dallas Mavericks are rolling out a starting five of Kyrie Irving, Max Christie, Cooper Flagg, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford for Monday night's matchup against the Miami Heat.

The real headline here is that Kyrie Irving is actually playing professional basketball again. He has not stepped on an NBA floor since March 3, 2025. That is a 19-month absence. For context, you could have conceived a child, taught it to walk, and realized you cannot afford daycare in the time since Irving last laced them up.

"Underdog NBA reported the lineup alert on X."

Then you have Cooper Flagg, who is getting the full rookie physical experience. He just popped up on the injury report with a shoulder issue over the weekend, adding to a resume that already includes a foot injury. Throwing a banged-up teenager and a point guard who has been out of commission for a year and a half into the same starting five is certainly a choice.

Dallas desperately needs this group to click. They just dropped a 122-106 game to the San Antonio Spurs and got blown out by the Houston Rockets last week. Sitting with a 1-2 record over their last three games is not exactly inspiring confidence for anyone holding Mavericks futures tickets.

We will see how this experiment looks in Miami. If Irving shows 19 months of rust or Flagg's shoulder limits his aggression, this rotation could get exposed fast. But if the basketball gods decide to cooperate, Dallas might finally have a lineup that stops the bleeding.