Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively is expected to be out 2-3 months with a fractured foot, per ESPN. Lively’s been out the last three games, after picking up what was originally thought to be an ankle sprain, but clearly the injury is much worse than expected. If Lively is forced to miss a full three months, he would be out for the remainder of the regular season.
This is a massive blow for a Mavericks team that had hopes of making another deep playoff run after a trip to the NBA Finals last June. Lively’s injury is just the latest in a string of ailments for the Mavericks this season. Franchise centerpiece Luka Doncic has been out for a month with a calf strain, though he is expected to return before the All-Star break. Kyrie Irving has also missed 10 games of his own. And as the Mavericks prepare for a Western Conference finals rematch against the Timberwolves on Wednesday night, they’ll have at least five players sidelined and another three players questionable for the matchup.
But losing Lively for such a long stretch is a tough pill to swallow in a year where he asserted himself as the team’s starting center after a strong rookie campaign. He’s averaging 9.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks a night while shooting 70.1% from the field. He — along with Daniel Gafford — are why the Mavericks are the fourth-best shot blocking team in the league. Lively’s presence in the paint is also why the Mavericks allow the third-lowest field goal percentage in the restricted area (62.6%).
When Lively’s on the floor, the Mavericks allow seven fewer points per 100 possessions, which ranks in the 93rd percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. When the Mavericks are at full strength, Lively’s essential in the pick-and-roll game for the Mavericks as a lob threat, and he’s been capable of putting the floor on the deck for baby hook shots and layups in the paint as well.
Lively going down for extended time means way more reliance on Gafford than the Mavericks would probably like, and increased minutes for Dwight Powell who is rarely taken off the shelf. It also likely means that Dallas will be in the market for a big man to fill out their frontcourt depth for the rest of the season. Things may look bleak now, but when Doncic comes back, the expectations are heightened and although Dallas is floundering down the West standings, they’re still one of the best five teams in the West when healthy. Getting someone who can fill in for Lively in the interim will be important, because Powell and to some extent Maxi Kleber as a small-ball center won’t be enough.
