In the three games they played against Minnesota, the Dallas Mavericks are +22 when Dereck Lively is on the court. In the only game he missed, Dallas lost.
It’s not that simple, but it also shows how important she’s been to the Mavericks in this series: It was obvious during Game 4 how much they missed Lively.
Lively has been upgraded to questionable for Game 5 on Thursday night.
That’s no guarantee he’ll play: Lively was doubtful 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 her in the back of the head as Lively was going to the ground. He remained on the ground for a few minutes, then went straight to the locker room, so as not to return with a sprained neck.
Lively comes off the bench and her athletic rim protection has been a crucial part of how Dallas has kept Anthony Edwards out of the paint, and on the other end she’s been a high-flying finisher on Luka Doncic’s lobs. Without him in Game 4, Jason Kidd briefly tried Dwight Powell, but it didn’t work out. Maxi Kleber returned from weeks of rest following a shoulder dislocation and seemed reluctant to shoot, but he also doesn’t provide the same type of rim protection that Lively does.
“Yeah, he’s an important piece for our defense and offense,” Doncic said after Game 4. “So we miss him a lot.”
Maybe they won’t have to miss him on Thursday night.