Mavericks 'Very, Very Confident' in Rookie PG Behind Kyrie Irving

The Dallas Mavericks have the most back-to-backs of any team in the 2026-27 NBA season, and the first came in the Mavs' tough opening week.

Dallas slipped late to fall to the San Antonio Spurs, 122-106, Saturday night. The game followed the Mavericks' first win of the season over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

Veteran point guard Kyrie Irving, as expected, was sidelined for Dallas against Victor Wembanyama and the defending Western Conference champs. Cooper Flagg was also out as he sustained a shoulder injury in the win in Indianapolis.

Irving is back from his torn ACL suffered in March 2025 and likely won't take part in many back-to-backs until later in the season, as long as the Mavs remain competitive for a playoff berth under first-year coach Dusty May.

Behind Irving, Dallas got an impressive bench showing against the in-state rival. Spanish rookie Sergio de Larrea, in particular, scored 21 of the Mavs' 51 bench points, plus five rebounds and four assists.

"I thought he was great," May said about Dallas' second of its two first-round picks. "In hindsight, I wish we could have gotten him to a point where he could have gotten the catches and not had to initiate the offense and break [Stephon] Castle’s pressure. But I thought he was great. I mean, his defense is improving. I thought his on-ball defense got better. He was chasing down long rebounds. He came up with five rebounds, four assists."

With Castle and Devin Vassell offering a rare duo of offensive and defensive length - plus second-year player Dylan Harper presenting a similar challenge and bursting with energy - it's not out of the ordinary for de Larrea to see some struggles.

Despite playing in professional basketball for years, de Larrea's leap to the NBA will come with his fair share of bumps.

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De Larrea also brings good size to Dallas' under-to-average sized players like Irving and Marcus Sasser. May spoke about mixing up playmaking opportunities when a traditional point guard is not on the floor, but as de Larrea continues to build confidence, he can adopt into that style next to P.J. Washington and Naji Marshall.

"It’s just to be prepared," de Larrea said about his progression. "I think all of us are connected. We want the best for the team, and all of us are connected to do the best performance possible.

"Today it was me, probably, but other days are other guys, and that is, I think, is what made this team special. All of us, I think, can do great performances, but at the end, we are helping the team."

Irving and Flagg's absences will certainly be a tough reality to navigate for the rookie head coach, but with performances like de Larrea's on Saturday, May has reason to be optimistic about his roster.

"You figure it out," May said about his lineup management. "I mean, we have good players. I mean, I’m very, very confident with the guys that you see. … So we’re not going into this focused on who we don’t have playing, but more of who is playing and how can we help them. And it’s exciting to see them in a different role as well, to have an opportunity to do more."