The Mavericks ruled starting center Dereck Lively II out with an ankle sprain just four minutes into their Tuesday game against Denver, the team announced (via Twitter).
Lively is continuing to build on an impressive first season that saw him finish sixth in Rookie of the Year voting and in which he helped the Mavericks reach the NBA Finals. In 31 games (24 starts) this season, he’s averaging 9.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 blocks while shooting a highly efficient 70.1% clip from the field.
It’s a tough blow for a Dallas team already without superstar Luka Doncic, who is dealing with a calf injury that’s expected to keep him out through this month, at the earliest. According to Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal, Doncic is on track to return in early February.
Lively’s most direct replacement is apparent: Daniel Gafford. He and Lively often switch off at the starting center position, with Gafford starting in all 22 of his appearances last postseason and Lively taking over this year. Beyond Gafford, the Mavs have Maxi Kleber, P.J. Washington and Dwight Powell as bigs. Powell got into the Tuesday’s game in the first half after not playing in the previous two tilts for Dallas.
It’s unclear exactly how much time Lively will miss, but sprains are typically measured in weeks, not days, in terms of recovery time, though that isn’t always the case. Tidjane Salaun of the Hornets suffered an ankle sprain in December that kept him out for only two games, a little over a week. Meanwhile Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga suffered a more significant one that will keep him out at least three weeks.