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The Dallas Mavericks, who've already been dealing with injuries, won't have center Dereck Lively II available against the Indiana Pacers due to a shoulder sprain injury, per beat reporter Joey Mistretta.
The 20-year-old big man continues to be a critical part of the rotation behind Daniel Gafford. Lively is averaging 23 minutes per game to go along with 9.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists across six contests.
Head coach Jason Kidd recently spoke about how he'd like to see Lively be the Mavericks' sixth man, even if he doesn't fit the moniker's typical mold.
“We would love to have Jason Terry or that type of player,” Kidd said. “It makes it easy because that role is filled. We're trying to define roles, we're trying to get guys comfortable in their role. We've had different looks, we're going to continue to have different looks as we go through this journey to see who is comfortable in that role. One of the guys that, you know, he might be a little bit taller than Jason Terry, might not shoot the three at a high clip, but D-Live could be looked upon as that sixth man.
“And it's a different role because the bigs just flip-flop with the six minutes, but when you look at what D-Live is doing for us, both offensively and defensively, he could be Jason Terry in a different light,” Kidd continued. “When you talk about the guards, that shows our depth. It shows that we can go in different directions. We're all fighting to be consistent and if we can get one of those three to be consistent then we can move forward and look at the next role.”
Mavericks' uncertain place in a crowded Western Conference
Is this the same team that bullied their way into last year's NBA Finals? In Brett Siegel's most recent NBA Power Rankings, he dropped the Mavs two spots to No. 7 with their 4-2 record.
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka spoke about what the Mavericks have with two premier ball-handlers to pair with a great mix of size in the frontcourt.
“The threat is the two guys that are usually handling the ball,” Udoka said. “Obviously they like to slip out and get behind the defense. Because you have to respect Irving and Doncic so much… You want to bring that big up… but knowing that the lob threat is there, so it's a perfect complement for them and what they do. Two guys that can make those passes. It's a perfect storm.”
The Mavs are part-way through a five-game home stretch. The split their first two games with a loss against Houston and win versus Orlando. After Monday's matchup against the Pacers, Dallas hosts Chicago and Phoenix to close out the week.
