After last night's loss to the LA Clippers, the Dallas Mavericks are now 3-10 on the season. This season is going far worse than anyone could've expected, and every game that Dallas loses gives Kyrie Irving less of a reason to play this year.
Irving tore his ACL in March of last season, and while signs are looking promising for him to be healthy enough to return at some point this season, the incentive of making a late-season return does not have the same reward as it once did. It was once expected that Irving was going to have a chance to be the ultimate swing factor and lead the Mavs on a strong end-of-season push all the way to the playoffs, but the chances of that happening look slim.