Dereck Lively II Continues to Impress as Mavericks Take Lead Against OKC Thunder

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 104-92, on Wednesday night en route to taking a commanding 3-2 lead in the series. Luka Doncic seemingly returned to his MVP form, registering 31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

Still, what was maybe most impressive in that contest was Dereck Lively II, not because he was the best or even second-best Maverick in the game, but because of the impact he’s provided time and time again in this series as just a rookie.

He played 23 minutes, and his two highest minutes in this Thunder series have now come back-to-back in Games 4 and 5. Lively logged 11 points, hitting on 3-of-4 field goals and nabbing 10 rebounds, one steal and one block in those minutes, but his impact went beyond the stat sheet. Coming off the bench, he was a team-high +22.

The 7-footer was a constant presence in the paint on both ends of the floor, finishing plays, bothering shots at the rim, and even getting this highlight alley-oop:

LUKA ALLEY-OOP FROM FULL COURT TO DERECK LIVELY 🤯 pic.twitter.com/MaRKZmzmfM
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 16, 2024

His biggest impact was definitely felt on the defensive end, though. He was constantly roaming off his man and standing in the paint, mucking up the Thunder’s drives, and stagnating their offense. Although he only blocked one shot, he contested more and stopped many shots from even happening in the first place. Dallas’ scheme to have their big muck up Oklahoma City’s drivers and disrupt their offensive rhythm led them to scoring playoff-low 92 points as a team.

One easy way to see a huge reason why OKC's been struggling on offense: watch Dereck Lively throughout this possession.

Dallas' closeouts, rotations, and peel switches on the perimeter are good, but OKC can't get anything because they're not moving Lively away from the rim. pic.twitter.com/sqC2Adt7X3
— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) May 16, 2024

Where Lively provided more versatility and impact than teammate Daniel Gafford was on the short roll. The Thunder have been able to load up on Gafford’s roll throughout this series, as he lacks vision as a passer. As a result, they’ve been able to limit his impact at the rim on offense. Lively, on the other hand, is an excellent short roll passer capable of making whoever tags him on the roll pay. While he only ended up with one assist, he made the right pass while rolling to the rim several times that led to general ball movement leading to easy scores.

The Duke product also went an impressive 3-for-4 from the free throw line. The Thunder went full 'Hack-a-Lively' on him in Game 3, a game in which a clip of Holmgren chasing Lively across the court to intentionally foul him went viral. In that game, Kyrie Irving talked to him and told him not to be afraid of taking the free throws, and he listened, going 4-for-4 on free throws after that pep talk. He’s now shooting 66.7% at the line over the last 3 games after shooting just 50.6% there during the regular season.

The impact Lively has provided in his minutes and the way he’s risen to the occasion in the playoffs as a rookie have been nothing short of impressive. The No. 12 overall pick from the 2023 draft is proof, in a long line of postseason impact rookies, that teams in the lottery with playoff-aspirations looking to add talent and instant impact don’t have to trade out of the lottery to do so. Good drafting can achieve that just as well.

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