NEW ORLEANS – All-Star reserves will be announced on Thursday and the Mavericks are hopeful that Kyrie Irving is included on the Western Conference squad.

They also would like to see Luka Dončić be named to the team, but given that he’s played just 22 of the Mavericks’ 48 games, that may be asking a lot.

In Irving, though, they have a player who has kept the team afloat through a maze of injuries that have knocked out just about every key player for some duration.

His play alone is a strong argument for coaches who voted for the reserves to include Irving. But there’s been more to Irving’s season than just the numbers, which are strong: 24.1 points, 4.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds per game and 48.2 percent shooting (42.2 percent from three).

“He should be,” coach Jason Kidd said of Irving’s chances. “Luka and Kai are our all-stars, our MVPs. So hopefully they’re both on there. But when you (talk) about Kai, Kai’s leadership and his stats and what he’s done for our team are all-star caliber. (He’s been) stable – his energy, his confidence, his positivity with his teammates is huge for us. His calmness, his ability to understand time and score.

“We’ve asked him to do a lot of things and he’s never said no. He’s been there through the wins and losses. He understands the journey and that’s to win a championship. We’re lucky to have him.”

Irving has been an All-Star eight times in his previous 13 seasons – four times with Cleveland, twice with Boston and twice with Brooklyn, including the 2022-23 season when he was traded to the Mavericks after being named an Eastern Conference All-Star.

The reserves will be announced before the start of TNT’s game coverage Thursday (5:30 p.m., Dallas time).

When Irving was asked about his All-Star prospects after the Mavericks’ win in New Orleans, he said: “I’ll be waiting . . . just like you guys.”

He then crossed his fingers.

Kidd said the results of the coaches’ voting should be intriguing.

“It’s not easy to do,” he said. “A lot of guys had a great first half of the season. This will be interesting. There’s always someone left out. The West has a lot of guys to choose from. It’ll be interesting to see who makes it.”

Missi making an impact: Last year at this time, Yves Missi was playing for the Baylor Bears in his lone collegiate season.

This week, he was named to the Rising Stars Game and on Wednesday, the 6-11 center received his plaque for being the Western Conference rookie of the month for December.

The rookie from Belgium has made a quick impact on the Pelicans, maybe moreso than what coach Willie Green expected when they made Missi the No. 21 overall pick in last summer’s draft.

“He definitely was going to see some minutes, but I don’t think I expected him to be the starting center on our team,” Green said. “And it’s a credit to Yves. He’s made tremendous strides in such a short amount of time. It’s sort of unusual and unique in a sense. He’s gotten better and better.”

Missi is averaging nine points and eight rebounds while playing a shade under 27 minutes per game.

“Extremely proud of him,” Green said. “He’s a positive that you can take out of our season. He’s been tremendous for us. We want him to keep on the upward trajectory.”

Briefly: The Mavericks won the rebounding game 51-36 against the Pelicans. It was their third-biggest advantage on the glass this season . . . Naji Marshall returned from a four-game absence because of an illness and was limited to 15 minutes. He had five points and two rebounds in his second trip as an opponent back to New Orleans, where he played the first four seasons of his NBA career.

X: @ESefko

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