Dallas Mavericks' Dereck Lively II to Return Against Timberwolves After 'Scary' Neck Injury

As the Dallas Mavericks try to close out the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals, Dereck Lively II is set to return from a "scary" neck injury.

May 26, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) warms up before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves in game three of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

MINNEAPOLIS — The Dallas Mavericks struggled without Dereck Lively II in their 105-100 Game 4 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was listed as questionable to play Game 5 with a neck sprain before being upgraded to available. With a 3-1 series lead, the Mavs seek to close the series out with an NBA Finals appearance hanging in the balance.

After nine minutes of action, Lively suffered the injury in Game 3 when Karl-Anthony Towns drove his knee into the back of his head while on the floor. He described the feeling as a burning sensation. and the injury was more painful than the nasal fracture he suffered earlier in the season.

“I remember looking up, looking for the rebound, and then I’m looking down at my numbers,” Lively said. “It was it was real quick. And I had a real burning sensation in the back of my head because you get kneed in the back of the head. There’s nothing that’s going to describe that. That hurt worse than the nose.”

May 26, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) warms up before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves in game three of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Lively worked at shootaround before Thursday's game. The media's viewing window is limited, but he was seen doing typical big man workout drills in the paint with assistant coach Sean Sweeney after doing dynamic exercises with a training staff member.

"We're gonna try. You guys caught me during a workout, so I can't really give you a rundown of what I can and can't do right now," Lively said. "But hopefully, I'll be able to take it step by step."

Lively admitted the play was "a little scary" at first, but he feels better, saying, "At first, it was a little scary with concussions because you get a knee in the back of the neck," he said. "But I'm here, I'm here, 20-20 vision."

It's still unclear how much Lively can do physically until he's seen in more of a game setting. He admitted he wants to return in Game 3, and it's unfortunate to have to sit out any period. However, he wants to return when the timing is right by listening to his body and not rushing the process.

"I want to be able to make sure my mind and my body is right, my body is ready," Lively said. "I'm still trying to figure out what I can do, but anytime I tell you, I wanted to play Game 3, but it's just what my body's going to allow me to do. Discomfort, everything in my neck was locked up from right after I got hit. It's just been a lot of treatment, a lot of rest, a lot of being able to just go on my body, listening to what my body's telling me."

By staying diligent with the treatment process, Lively has experienced progress, but admits there are times they've woken up due to neck stiffness.

"No, first couple of days I did, and it's really just been coming down to treatment," Lively said. "There's been a lot of times where I'll wake up stiff, but the minute I wake up stiff I'm gonna go get treatment, try to loosen up my body, try to be able to turn."

While observing Game 4 from the sideline, Lively saw plenty of situations where he could have positively impacted the team. However, he trusts his teammates to make an impact whether he's on the court or sidelined due to injury.

"There were a lot of times where they were just getting easy buckets where I saw myself in a position to stop them," Lively said. "We're just trying to help my teammates, get in those positions, and stop them when I'm on the floor. And I have trust in 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 floor or not."

Another observation that stood out to Lively was how open some of the spots on the floor were with the Timberwolves being aggressive by sending nail help when handling short rolls.

"How open some of the spots on the floor are," Lively said. "Whenever they send two people to the ball and they have a heavy help defense to prevent the short roll pass, that means one and a half to two people are open on the side. So it's easy to get the pass to them, have them cut to get to open space, and try to find an open area."

Lively wants the Mavericks to take pride in being the aggressors in Game 5 to set the tone from the start of the game instead of what happened in their previous loss with a slow start.

"There are times when we hear everybody talking about how they're the aggressors, so we gotta be the aggressors this time," Lively said.

Stick with MavericksGameday for more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA Playoffs.

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