Dereck Lively II, the center for the Dallas Mavericks, is subjected to miss all of their next three games, at a minimum. Now he’s dealing with complications from a past foot surgery. The surgery, which took place in July, was to remove bone spurs from his right foot. The undersized combo guard had only recently made his way back from a knee injury that sidelined him for nine games earlier this season. Unfortunately, he is now dealing with another blow.
At first, Lively’s absence was explained by treatment for a right knee injury. Yet after the team’s road loss to the Miami Heat, their medical staff reportedly used the opportunity to redefine his injury report. They showed that he is currently experiencing serious swelling and pain with his surgically repaired foot. While this shift in diagnosis is a positive sign, questions have been raised about the long-term viability of Lively’s right foot.
Lively returned to action on November 14, less than a month after suffering a knee sprain. He’s missed each of the last two games. The Mavericks are in a wait-and-see mode with him at this point, trying to figure out the path forward. The team announced that they’d be monitoring his foot injury with limited rehabilitation.
However, this is not the first time Lively has encountered major injury adversities in his career. Last year, he incurred a stress fracture in his right ankle. This injury put him on the bench for over two months. That injury led to a lot of questions surrounding his durability, and if he could sustain consistently good play at the center position.
There’s a big caveat here that the Dallas Mavericks do really need to thread the needle on. Their goal is to remain a top team in the league despite being without Lively’s contributions. His size and skill set are so important to the team’s overall performance that his return is paramount to the team’s success.
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