Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II to Miss Multiple Months with Foot Fracture: “I’ll Be Back”
The Dallas Mavericks are facing another significant injury setback, with center Dereck Lively II, who has remained sidelined with a right ankle sprain since suffering his injury after four minutes against the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 14, is expected to miss two to three months due to a small fracture in his foot.
The injury, first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania on Wednesday, compounds the health challenges the Mavericks have faced all season. Heading into their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, more than half of the Mavericks’ roster was listed on the injury report with various ailments.
In his second season in the NBA, Lively had firmly established himself as the Mavericks’ starting center. He was averaging career highs in points (9.1), rebounds (7.8), and assists (2.6) in 24.0 minutes per game, while shooting 70.1% from the field before the injury.
A two-month timeline would leave Lively with only 11 games remaining in the regular season. The play-in tournament is set to take place on Apr. 15-18, while the playoffs will start Apr. 19. If Lively were to miss a full three months, a return date of roughly Apr. 22 would sideline him for these dates.
Luka Dončić has been sidelined since suffering a left calf strain during the Christmas Day game against the Timberwolves. He is scheduled for re-evaluation later this month, and sources have indicated to DallasHoopsJournal.com that he’s on track to return before the All-Star break in early February.
After undergoing right wrist surgery, Dante Exum has yet to play this season. Despite going through an on-court workout on Monday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, he has to build up rhythm after being unable to use his dominant hand for months. Head coach Jason Kidd mentioned Exum is “not close” to returning before the 110-105 loss against the Hornets.
The Mavericks were already without Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain) and Dwight Powell (right hip strain) for Wednesday’s matchup against the Timberwolves. Lively, who was one of four players listed as questionable, joins Naji Marshall (illness), Quentin Grimes (back spasms), and Klay Thompson (left ankle sprain) on the injury report.
Previous reporting from Chris Haynes on Jan. 15 indicated that Lively’s X-ray scans on his right foot came back negative.
Lively traveled with the Mavericks to Charlotte for Monday’s game. While he did not participate in an on-court workout, he was seen working out in the back with the training staff. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd mentioned before the Charlotte game that he didn’t think Lively was close to returning to action.
Lively posted a photo on his Instagram story captioned, “I’ll be back.” Despite being set to not play against Minnesota, he remained questionable on the Mavericks’ injury report submissions after word of a foot fracture widely surfaced.
