BOSTON — Dereck Lively II sat behind the podium Saturday afternoon, with the blue backdrop of the NBA Finals behind him, his smile as bright as the two chains shining around his neck. “How is everyone today?” The 20-year-old rookie from Dallas stood in a semicircle of television cameras and gathered media, about 40 hours after five fouls severely limited Lively’s production in the Mavericks’ Game 1 loss to Boston.
There was no sign of frustration on Lively’s brow following the overall lost energy that emanated during Dallas’ opening practice, despite the 107-89 loss that saw the Mavericks trail by as many as 29 points. “I’m fine,” Lively said. “Another day another dollar.”
Lively’s two-way success this postseason has been a critical factor in Dallas’ run to this championship run, often leaving Luka Dončić shaking his head in surprise at the Duke product’s effectiveness so early in his career. Lively stood out against the length of Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals and was 16-for-16 from the field in the series. He positioned himself and shuffled his feet against Oklahoma City’s group of ball-handlers while also making key free throws in Game 3 when the Thunder resorted to intentionally following the first-year big man.
Against Boston, Lively was a non-factor, minus-15 in just 18 minutes – largely thanks to four whistles against him in the third quarter. He scored just two points, five rebounds, one steal and one assist. “But he stayed poised,” Dallas starting center Daniel Gafford said. “There are a lot of guys who get into trouble, especially at a stage like this, I think, it would get into their heads, they would get angry, frustrated, it would take them away from the game. But D stuck with it. And that’s something that shows maturity on his side for just being a young guy.”
After each contest throughout this postseason, the Mavericks running back duo sat down with assistant coach Sean Sweeney to further analyze film from each game. They planned to regroup shortly after media availability this afternoon. Sweeney, according to Lively, has been instrumental in helping the rookie understand the different rotations that the NBA presents compared to college.
“Our footwork, our placement, knowing where our positioning is on the defensive end,” Lively said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re the ones sending them down, if we’re down, we don’t delay on coverages and we announce coverages early so they can’t just get three easy pick-and-pops.”
When Lively returned to the Mavericks locker room on Thursday night, her phone had already been monitored by former Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler. Reminders to keep your head down, to keep moving forward. “Texting,” Lively said. “I’m terrible at making phone calls.” Chandler, once the tremendous presence that anchored Dallas’ last championship run in 2011, was part of the franchise in some capacity during his retirement, a common theme among former players during Mark Cuban’s tenure as the organization’s owner. Before home games, you’ll see Chandler, with a bright orange hat turned backwards, leaning his massive frame against Lively in the paint.
While the Mavericks spend the weekend in Boston, Chandler still offers advice to his student from afar. “All he’s telling me to do is the little things, no matter if it’s hitting them in the box or being able to talk to my teammates behind their back,” Lively said. “Just doing the little things so everyone is connected on the court, so we don’t leave anyone behind.”
“I’m not worried about him at all,” Mavericks forward P.J. Washington said of Lively. “He will find his rhythm.”
This is not an unfamiliar position for Dallas, which fell to 1-6 in Game 1 of the postseason during Jason Kidd’s tenure as head coach. The Mavericks missed last season’s playoffs in a clear effort to drop down the standings and keep the first-round pick that produced Lively in an overnight trade with OKC. And he has proven himself more than capable of responding to every encounter with adversity throughout this first season with Dallas.
“It’s been a lot of failure, learn, fail, get a little better,” Lively said. “We won’t improve if we don’t learn from our mistakes.”
