Next man down, next man up – Dereck Lively Injury Update

Lively took a bad step last night and we’ve gotten a status update prior to tonight’s tip-off

Stop me if you heard this one… On January 6^th, the Mavericks welcomed back Naji Marshall (suspension) just as they lost Kyrie Irving for 10 days. Last night, Kyrie returned, but Dereck Lively II landed awkwardly on Nicola Jokic’s foot in the early minutes and was done for the game. If you’re eager for more strange parallels to the ongoing injury issues, remember it was just a few nights ago that Daniel Gafford did almost the exact same thing.

Hopefully we’ll see a positive trend continue, and like Gafford, Lively will return sooner than later. Chris Haynes reported that Lively had an x-ray performed and it came back negative. He did however continue on that there is no timeline for his return.

The string of bad luck with injuries is almost becoming comical at this point. Already thin with the long term absence of Dante Exum and missing Luka Doncic since Christmas day, the Mavs certainly could have used Lively’s energy last night. The Mavs basically got destroyed in all aspect of the game, but the beating they took on the rebounding front was glaring (51 – 30), as was the general lack of defense as the Nuggets had 71 points by half time.

Whether or not Lively would have been the difference maker in a more favorable outcome last night, the Mavs need him available as soon as possible so they can get (and hopefully stay) healthy and start building some momentum. Depending on what injury report you look at and when, Lively has been shown as “out,” “questionable” or simply not listed at all. Our very own Tyler Edsel has Lively as “out” for tonight, so until we see otherwise, Tyler’s sleuthing is what I’m going on.

All we can do at this point is take solace in Chris Haynes’ report on a favorable x-ray, and wish Lively a speedy recovery!