Confirmed! Regular season reimbursement! The Mavericks suffered a sudden blow, and Doncic lost an important helper
On April 3, Beijing time, the Dallas Mavericks, who have won seven in a row, will challenge the Golden State Warriors, who have won four in a row, away from home, which will be another big infighting in the Wild West. The Mavericks currently sit fifth in the West with 45 wins and 29 losses, but are only 0.5 wins ahead of the sixth-place Pelicans. The Warriors are in 10th place in the West with 40 wins and 34 losses, and they have finally won two games behind the Rockets with a four-game winning streak. Obviously, this is going to be a game that neither the Mavericks nor the Warriors can afford to lose, and they will both have to take out their opponents if they want to keep their current position!
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd revealed in an interview that rookie center Deriklefley will miss at least two weeks due to right knee soreness. With only 12 days left in the regular season, Lively will be out for at least two weeks, which means he is confirmed to be out for the regular season!
Although this is Lively's rookie season, the 20-year-old center is now an extremely important member of the Mavericks' lineup, he is a particularly important winning helper next to Doncic, and he is an interior ace in Kidd's hand, playing a very key role in the Mavericks' tactical system.
Losing Lively at the end of the regular season would have seriously damaged the Mavericks' strength, but fortunately, the Mavericks' interior roster was quite abundant. Not only do they have Gafford in their center position, but also Kleber and PJ Washington can also play as center forwards. Here, we have to give a thumbs up to the two big trades of their team management at this year's trade deadline, because on the deadline, they got two big inside players, Gafford and Washington, through the trade. This move can be described as a rainy day, otherwise their internal line will now be stretched thin!
So far this season, Lively has averaged 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 74.4% from the field. Although the personal data is not particularly good, after all, this is the first year of Lively's career, and it is rare to be able to hand over such a comprehensive data! Of course, his role in the Mavericks is not only reflected in the data, but also the invisible role at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends is more important! In the game, he has become the most relied on inside player around Doncic, escorting the Dallas restricted area!