Dereck Lively II Hitting Heavy in Second Unit, Mavericks Eyeing Advancement

Dereck Lively II has been a hustler and all-around impactful player on both ends for the Dallas Mavericks this season, stepping into his rookie year as a player who can add so much value to a team with star power.

That has yet to change into the postseason, as he's seen nearly 20 minutes per game across four contests in Round 1. He's provided that same value he did in the regular season as head coach Jason Kidd has now reached far down his reserve unit throughout this first series comparative to the majority of cutthroat playoff rotations.

Lively II has of course been a big beneficiary of that, and it's paid off for Kidd and the Mavericks, with the 7-foot-1 center's impact on the boards and athleticism in transition behind starter Daniel Gafford has been a relief for Dallas to lean on.

Against the LA Clippers thus far, Lively II has put up 8.6 points on 72.0% shooting with 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks to kick off his first ever playoff run.

Now up 3-2 after a 12-point, seven-rebound performance after going 100% from the field, the Mavericks are in a prime spot as they look to head home for Game 6 and close out the series. Awaiting them are the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, a series the Mavericks fell short to this season at 1-3.

But LA won't go down so easily despite Kawhi Leonard's status still being unavailable, as we've seen so far in this series. In any case, the Mavericks' help derived from Lively II will be needed once again to close out a dangerous Clippers team on Friday night.