Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively remains one of the most promising rookies in the league even though he got thoroughly outplayed by Cleveland Cavaliers big man Jarrett Jallen. The Mavs youngster can just consider his subpar performance in the 113-110 loss to the Cavaliers as another lesson learned. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd also added more to that with advice for the former Duke Blue Devils star following the game.

“From the first play of the game, gotta be ready. Everybody can talk about how well you’re playing, but you gotta understand who you’re playing against,” said Kidd on the play of Lively, who finished the contest with just four points, four rebounds, an assist, two blocks, and a turnover plus four fouls in 25 minutes (h/t Landon Thomas of Mavs Fans For Life).

Lively's production was in stark contrast to the monster body of work Cavs bog man Jarrett Allen put together in the game. Allen went off for 24 points and 23 rebounds in 35 minutes. With Allen wreaking havoc, the Cavs were able to come back from a 15-point halftime deficit and steal a win in Dallas, thus preventing the Mavs from winning a third straight outing.

The Mavericks wasted a golden opportunity to score a win in the Cleveland game. For one, the Cavs were missing Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley. Even though the Mavs were without Kyrie Irving, they should have not allowed the significantly undermanned Cavs squad to beat them in front of their home crowd.

The Mavs will look to recover from that embarrassing loss right away when they face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.