MINNEAPOLIS — The Dallas Mavericks struggled without Derek Lively II, losing 105-100 in Game 4 to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was listed as questionable for Game 5 with a neck sprain but has been ruled available. The Mavericks lead the series 3-1 and are looking to close it out with an NBA Finals berth on the line.
Lively sustained the injury nine minutes into Game 3 when Karl-Anthony Towns struck him with a knee to the back of his head on the court, a sensation he described as burning. Lively said the injury was more painful than the broken nose he suffered earlier in the season.
“I remember looking up looking for the rebound and then looking down at my numbers,” Lively said. “It all happened so fast. I got kneed in the back of the head and I just felt this burning sensation in the back of my head. I can’t even describe it. It hurt more than my nose.”
Lively took shot practice before Thursday’s game, and while his media time was limited, he was seen working through some dynamic exercises with the training staff and then running through some classic big man training drills in the paint with assistant coach Sean Sweeney.
“I’m going to try. You guys have seen me in practice so I can’t tell you exactly what I can and can’t do right now,” Lively said, “but hopefully I can take it one step at a time.”
Lively admitted she was “a little scared” to play at first, but said she now feels better, saying, “At first, I was a little scared because of the concussion, because the knee goes to the back of my neck. But I’m here. I’m here. I have 20/20 vision.”
It remains to be seen how physically capable Lively is until he sees more action in games. He has admitted he would like to return for Game 3 and it would be disappointing to have to miss any period, but he wants to listen to his body and not rush it, and return at the right time.
“I want to make sure my mind and body are OK and that my body is ready,” Lively said. “I’m still figuring out what I can do, but I’ve always said I want to play in Game 3, but it’s only as far as my body will allow. Right after I got hit, everything in my neck was tight and I was in discomfort. I got a lot of therapy and rest, and I was able to just play with my body and listen to what my body was telling me.”
By continuing her treatment diligently, Lively has made progress, but she admits that she still wakes up with a stiff neck.
“No, for the first few days I did, and then it was just a matter of healing,” Lively said. “There were a lot of times I’d wake up stiff, and the minute I got up I’d go get therapy, loosen up, and try to get myself rolling.”
Watching Game 4 from the sideline, Lively saw plenty of moments where he was able to have a positive impact on his team, but he believes his teammates can make an impact whether he’s on the court or out with an injury.
“There were a lot of times where they were scoring easy goals and I knew I could stop them,” Lively said. “We’re just trying to help our teammates, get into position and stop them when we’re on the court. I trust my teammates. I trust all of them with my life, so I know they’re going to get the job done whether I’m on the court or not.”
Another observation Lively noted was how the Timberwolves played aggressively by sending nail help in handling the short roll, and how open some spots on the court were.
“How open some spots on the court are,” Lively said, “if they send two guys to the ball and deploy a strong help defense to prevent the short roll pass, that means they’ve got 1.5 to two guys open on the side. So it’s easy to just pass to them, try to cut them and get them into open space and find the open area.”
Lively prides himself on his Mavericks being aggressive in Game 5 and wants them to get on a roll early on rather than get off to a slow start like they did in their last loss.
“You hear everybody talk about them being aggressive, but this time we need to be aggressive,” Lively said.
continue Mavericks Game Day Check out more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA Playoffs.
Follow Grant Afseth twitterYouTube, Facebook, etc.
