DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks will host the Denver Nuggets once again on Tuesday night. Denver earned a 112-101 win against Dallas on Sunday, as the Nuggets utilized a fourth quarter comeback to seize the victory. Defending Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is a difficult challenge to say the least. While talking about center Dereck Lively II's performance against Jokic, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd revealed an underlying part of Jokic's game that doesn't always receive enough attention.
“As well as he could have,” Kidd said of how Lively played against Jokic. “Talking about the best player in the world, you're not gonna shut him out… You can double him, he's seen the doubles, he's seen the one-on-ones… Lively did as well as he could. (Daniel Gafford) and (Maxi Kleber), too. But that's why he's (Jokic) considered one of the best, if not the best in the world.
“You can double him, you can play him straight up. His passing ability and his offensive rebounding ability is something that's, you know, is at a very high level for a seven-footer. The passing, yes, but I think he doesn't get enough credit when he shoots it, he always comes up with the rebound. The opponent never comes up with the rebound… I think that's just how smart his basketball I.Q. is, understanding that if he does miss it he knows where it's gonna go.”
Kidd wasn't the only head coach who had compliments to give on Tuesday. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone praised Lively while discussing the center's effort against Jokic.




“You have to look at their gameplan,” Malone said. “I think Dereck Lively is a hell of a young talent. They have a two, sometimes three-headed monster, they throw out Lively, they throw out Gafford, they throw out Maxi and try to send bodies at Nikola and wear him down. But to Jason Kidd's credit they're not letting Nikola play in the post, so it's really hard to say how Lively did because every time we posted Nikola they double-teamed him right away. There was two bodies on him, they pre-rotated, and that's where we try to get Nikola loose in other ways.
“But Dereck Lively's upside and potential is obviously incredible and, you know, he was a big reason for the run that they had last season.”
The Mavericks will look to get the job done on Tuesday night against the Nuggets.