Before Tuesday’s game, Jason Kidd disclosed to the media that Dallas Mavericks rookie center Dereck Lively II could miss the rest of the regular season after being downgraded from questionable to out due to knee soreness.
“It could be two weeks where he could be out, but we’ll see how he feels,” Kidd told Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “We’ll take it day by day, but hopefully he’s back sooner than later.”
Dallas Mavericks Rookie Likely To Miss Rest Of Regular Season
Lively suffered an in-game injury in the second quarter of Dallas’ previous game against the Houston Rockets on Sunday. The 20-year-old was initially listed as questionable against Golden State. But he missed the morning shootaround and, by mid-afternoon, was declared out.
Dallas (45-30) dropped a 104-100 decision in Golden State last night despite Luka Doncic‘s best efforts to keep the Mavericks winning streak alive. The loss snapped the Mavericks seven-game winning streak.
Doncic finished the game with 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 double-doubles, his 20th triple-double of the season. With this performance, Doncic now has twice as many triple-doubles as he did last season. His previous career-high triple-double was 17 in 2019-20.
While Kidd used the term “sprain” when describing Lively’s injury, Mavs general manager Nico Harrison said no diagnosis will be determined until the team returns to Dallas today.
The regular season ends on April 14. So, a two-week absence means that Lively would be out until at least the start of the play-in tournament.
Dallas is fifth in the Western Conference. However, the Mavericks have the same record as New Orleans. They are also two games behind the fourth-place Los Angeles Clippers. Additionally, the Mavs are two games clear of Sacramento and Phoenix, who are seventh and eighth in the standings.
Dallas’s remaining schedule is the fifth easiest, per Tankathon, with opponents’ winning percentages at .455. The Mavericks still have four tough games, including another game against the Warriors and matchups against OKC, Houston, and Miami.
The Mavs have home games against Atlanta, Detroit, and Charlotte. They begin a three-game homestand against Atlanta on Thursday. The Mavs are 22-15 at home this season.
With this favorable situation, Dallas has the capability of moving up in the standings. The Mavs have been playing well lately, winning 11 of their last 13.
Meanwhile, Tankathon lists Phoenix as having the toughest remaining schedule. Sacramento has the fourth-toughest schedule, and the Clippers have the seventh.
What Does Lively’s Injury Mean For Mavs
Lively has played well and has been a significant rotational player for the Mavericks. The 7-1 center has been fantastic, scoring around the rim, cleaning the glass, and protecting the rim for the Mavs. He has produced eight double-doubles, averaging 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in 23.5 minutes.
Lively has started 42 games but has been coming off the bench for nearly the last month. The Mavericks are 35-20 in the games that Lively has played this season and are 10-10 without the rookie.
Daniel Gafford has started the past 12 games. Gafford has played well since coming over from Dallas. But the 25-year-old center has thrived over the last month, averaging 13.0 points on nearly 80% shooting from the field and 7.5 rebounds (2.4 offensive). The Mavericks also outscored their opponents by 10.8 points while he was on the court, leading the team.
So, who fill Lively’s minutes. The Mavs do have plenty of options.
It appears Maxi Kleber will get the first shot on most nights. Dwight Powell will likely see a few minutes a game like he did against the Warriors, playing a little over eight minutes of action.
P.J. Washington can also fill in at center in small-ball situations. Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Markieff Morris are emergency options.
“It’s always good to have a depth in the sense of our center position,” Kidd said. “We talk about Maxi, we’ll look at DP. We can go small with PJ [Washington] at the five if we have to.
To be able to have guys who can play center with D-Live out is good, and also it probably brings in some of the smalls because we don’t want to run minutes up here with some of the other guys.”
