The Dallas Mavericks are expected to miss another player for a substantial amount of time after center Dereck Lively II sustained a small fracture in his foot that will keep him sidelined for at least two months.
ESPN Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania reported that Lively “is expected to miss 2-to-3 months” with the injury, marking another significant loss for this team leading into a critical stretch of the season.
Lively has become one of the most impactful players on the Mavericks roster, averaging 9.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game despite playing only 24 minutes per game.
While Lively has become a more effective player on the offensive side of the ball, his most significant impact comes through changing opposing players’ shot attempts at the rim and averaging an impressive 1.7 blocks per game.
The second-year center has been one of the best players in the league at defending shots close to the basket, holding opponents to just 54.3% from the field on shots that are attempted within six feet of the basket.
Dallas will now have to pivot to a smaller style of play due to losing Lively and ongoing injury concerns with backup center Dwight Powell.
The Mavericks will lean heavily on the abilities of center Daniel Gafford, who has played an average of just 20.3 minutes per game this season but put up impressive averages of 12.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
While Gafford has shown to be much more polished on offense, the Mavericks will miss Lively’s defensive impact to the floor.
This setback adds to the growing list of injuries suffered by Mavericks players this season, including guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who have missed significant portions of the season to this point.
These injuries have played a major role in the Mavericks’ record of 23-20, which is good enough for the seventh seed in the Western Conference and a berth in the play-in tournament.
Dallas is just one and a half games ahead of the Golden State Warriors in the standings and could drop out of the playoffs altogether with any more losing stretches of games.
The Mavericks also have a difficult stretch of games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Boston Celtics.
Two of these three games will be played on the Mavericks’ home court, but each of those teams can take down the Mavericks team at any time.