Why is Kyrie Irving not playing against Cavaliers? Mavericks guard's absence explored (Jan.3)

After a 16-point outing on Wednesday that saw Kyrie Irving log seven rebounds, two blocks and three steals, the veteran guard is set to miss Friday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Mavericks reporter Grant Afseth broke the news on Friday afternoon, reporting that Irving would miss the evening's game with an illness. After initially being left off the team's injury report submitted to NBA.com earlier in the day, Irving was then added to the 5:30 PM ET injury report with an unspecified illness.

The league's injury report is updated every hour on the hour, with all of the day's injury reports logged on NBA.com as teams throughout the league submit them.

Irving's absence on Friday will come amid a three-game skid for the Dallas Mavericks that has seen the team fall to the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and Houston Rockets. Over their last five games, going back to their Dec. 25 clash with the Timberwolves, the team is 1-4 over their last five.

Looking at the Dallas Mavericks' record without Kyrie Irving ahead of tonight's clash with the Cleveland Cavaliers

This season, Kyrie Irving has played in 30 of the Dallas Mavericks' 34 games, missing games on Nov. 14, Dec. 1, Dec. 19, and Dec. 30 due to shoulder injuries.

In the Nov. 14 game against the Utah Jazz, Dallas dropped a narrow 115-113 loss, with Luka Doncic leading the way in scoring. Then, on Dec. 1, the Mavericks picked up a 137-131 win over the Portland Trail Blazers without Irving, with Doncic leading the way with 36 points.

Kyrie Irving then missed Dallas' 118-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, and Dallas' Dec. 30 loss to the Sacramento Kings as well, putting the team's record at 1-3 this season in games where the longtime star doesn't play.

Considering the team will also be without Luka Doncic tonight thanks to a calf strain, their odds of picking up a win against a Cleveland Cavaliers team that has dominated the Eastern Conference might be pretty slim.

While Dallas will be looking to get back into the win column tonight, Cleveland will be looking to extend an eight-game win streak that most recently saw them beat the Lakers 122-110.