Kyrie Irving returned to the field on Tuesday night, eight days after it was announced that he could miss up to two weeks with a bulging disc in his back.

Just because Irving returned relatively quickly doesn’t mean his back is completely fine or even close to a guarantee that he’ll be pain-free and worry-free for the rest of this season, which reaches its halfway point Wednesday night in New Orleans will be.

After the Mavericks’ 118-99 home loss to Denver on Tuesday night, a game in which he shot 4-for-18 and scored 11 points, Irving spoke about the injury and the prognosis in the Mavericks’ locker room. What the Mavericks call a lumbar sprain, Irving calls a disc bulge:

Q: How did you feel tonight?

IRVING: I felt much better. To be honest, the last almost two weeks have been shit. I didn’t really have any back problems before, and when I got the MRI back and found out it was a bulging disc, I spoke to a few experts; a few doctors; spoke to some of my teammates; I also spoke to some people on our coaching staff who were involved in operations or just maintenance.

It goes on and off. So I just have to be very smart about it, but I’m grateful that I had the chance to go out and get some minutes. Tonight it really felt like I just jumped off the couch and decided to play an NBA game.

Warming up over the last few days has been good, but it’s not like an NBA game where it’s all about finding the rhythm. That’s why I’m grateful that my teammates had my back. Obviously it wasn’t the best performance for us, top to bottom, but I’m just thankful I was able to be out there and get another game tomorrow.

Q: When you say you have to act wisely, how much concern is there? Or how much care do you have to make sure that this lasts to some extent?

IRVING: It’s my body, brother. You know how it is. This is how I take care of my family. You have to be very careful with anything that happens to your back, knees or feet. So let’s just talk to the medical staff and do everything we can to make sure we have a plan and go from there. But there isn’t really much concern in the locker room or among the coaching staff.

Q Are you still treating your pain now?

IRVING: Uh, after some help through different things – I mean just medically, just to relieve some of the pain. At first I couldn’t even put my socks on while standing. I had to sit down every time.

I couldn’t really meditate. I had a lot of discomfort in my hamstrings and just my leg. So just deal with a few unpleasant things, get used to them and

In the last week or so, been able to get some rest and feel better.

Q: What did the experts tell you? Will you have to do it for the rest of the season?

IRVING: It’s a bulging disc in the back, so you just have to do your best to deal with it. It’s not so bad that I need surgery, which I’m thankful to God for. But I have the support of our medical staff and some other people in this locker room who feel the same way. So it’s enough to be smart.

Don’t be too careful. I’ll most likely be playing (Wednesday) so just give it a try and just keep trying to find my rhythm, get back into game shape and go from there.