The Dallas Mavericks suffered a major loss in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rookie center Dereck Lively II was inadvertently kneed in the back of the head by Karl-Anthony Towns when falling to the ground.
Luckily, he was able to avoid a concussion from what looked to be some nasty whiplash. But, Dereck Livley II didn’t leave unscathed, as he was diagnosed with a sprained neck from the blow to the back of his head.
He did not return to the court in Game 3 after the injury was sustained. Absent from the lineup in Game 4, the Dallas Mavericks lost for the first time in the series, 105-100. With Game 5 set to take place on Thursday night in Minnesota, there is still uncertainty surrounding his status.
After the team’s shootaround, Dereck Lively II did have a workout to test how he felt. The workout lasted 10 minutes as he did some explosive movements. Despite the workout taking place, he was still considered questionable.
“I was definitely moving,” Lively told ESPN when asked how the workout went while he was exiting the Target Center.
That workout is the first time that he has gotten any on-court work in since the injury on Sunday night. It was certainly encouraging to see him doing some sprinting and jumping on the court, but the team sounds like they are still exhibiting some caution.
“I really don’t know how much I can do,” Lively said before media was cleared from the Target Center court for his individual workout. “We’re just figuring out what I can do. Just trying to take it, see what’s going to bring up red flags and what’s not.”
In the days following the injury, Lively did admit that he was experiencing some extreme stiffness in his neck and back, along with soreness. That is easy to believe, as he was in a vulnerable spot when he got hit. Avoiding the league’s concussion protocol was certainly a win as a head injury was the concern at first.
“We’re not going to call it pain; we’re going to call it discomfort,” Lively said. “But everything in my neck was locked up from right after I got hit, so it’s just been a lot of treatment, a lot of stretching, just a lot of just listening to what my body’s telling me.”
A member of the second-team All-Rookie this season, Dereck Lively II has been an integral part of the Dallas Mavericks’ success in the postseason. Without him, their entire game plan changes on both ends of the floor, as the other big men on the depth chart outside Daniel Gafford are unable to have te same sort of impact.
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