Mavs Injury Updates: Kyrie Irving OUT for Christmas Day vs. Suns; Dereck Lively II Back?

Although Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks will still be without star point guard Kyrie Irving for their Christmas Day game against the Phoenix Suns, they could be getting breakout rookie big man Dereck Lively II back.

Dalton Trigg | Dec 25, 2023

Mavs Injury Updates: Kyrie Irving OUT for Christmas Day vs. Suns; Dereck Lively II Back? /

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As the Dallas Mavericks prepare to take on the Phoenix Suns, Luka Doncic's injury-plagued squad could be getting some big help returning to action.

Although Doncic's co-star Kyrie Irving and key role player Josh Green remain out with a heel contusion and elbow sprain respectively, breakout rookie big man Dereck Lively II has been listed as being questionable after missing the last four games with an ankle sprain.

Dereck Lively — Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Irving obviously means a lot to what the Mavs are trying to accomplish this season, but an argument could be made that Lively has been Dallas' second-most important player after Doncic. The Mavs are 1-5 when Lively doesn't play, and the only win came on Saturday night with a 144-119 blowout win over the San Antonio Spurs.

In 23 games, Lively is averaging 8.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 25.3 minutes while shooting a league-best 73.4 percent from the field. As important as it is for Doncic to have another high-level backcourt partner, it's even more important for him to have a versatile, rim-rolling center that is capable of being a defensive anchor as well. That's exactly what Lively is, and the Mavs have seen the immediate benefits.

Luka Doncic & Devin Booker Share 'Mutual Respect' Before Mavs-Suns Christmas Day Game

After forming a 'Big 3' consisting of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, the Suns have been disappointing with a 14-14 record heading into the Christmas Day game with the Mavs. Dallas, on the other hand, has done well at 17-12, especially given all the injuries that have occurred. We'll see if Doncic, and potentially Lively, can keep the Suns down by winning on their home court on Christmas.

Published Dec 25, 2023

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.