In the three games he played against Minnesota, the Dallas Mavericks are +22 when Dereck Lively is on the court. In the one game he missed, Dallas lost.
It’s not that simple, but it also paints a picture of how important he has been to the Mavericks in this series. During Game 4, it became clear how much Lively was missed.
Lively was upgraded to questionable for Game 5 on Thursday night.
That’s no guarantee he’ll play. Lively was questionable for a while before Game 4, but was ruled out early. This seems more optimistic.
Lively was injured in Game 3 when Karl-Anthony Towns inadvertently kneed him in the back of the head as Lively was going to the ground. He lay on the floor for a few minutes and then went straight to the locker room, lest he return with a neck sprain.
Lively comes off the bench and his athletic rim protection has been a crucial part of how Dallas has kept Anthony Edwards out of the paint, and on the other hand he is a high-flying finisher of Luka Doncic’s lobs. Without him in Game 4, Jason Kidd briefly tried Dwight Powell, but it didn’t work. Maxi Kleber returned from weeks off after a shoulder dislocation and seemed hesitant to shoot, but he also doesn’t provide the same kind of rim protection as Lively.
“Yeah, he’s a big part of our defense and offense,” Doncic said after Game 4. “So we miss him a lot.”
They may not have to miss him on Thursday evening.
