By james art As he watched Derek Lively II keep another offensive rebound alive and give the Mavericks a second chance at points Tuesday in Minnesota, coach Jason Kidd’s first thought was that the messages he and his team sent to the second-year center were being received strongly and clear.
The essence of these messages?
“Go get it,” Kidd said.
In the Mavericks’ first four games, Lively got it. He’s had nine or more rebounds in three of the four and accounted for a large portion of the Mavericks’ 76 second-chance points in those three wins.
“D-Live has been a monster for us, giving us second and third chances,” Kidd said. “A lot of times with the shift that happens, he has a small (player against him). So he took full advantage of the opportunity to pick up at-bats against the Cubs with the changeup.
“If he’s not putting it back, he’s trying to find three-point shooters or get the ball back to our guards. But he did an amazing job of being able to make an offensive rebound or put it away. If you get that live-body activity like D-Live in the fourth quarter, it gives you a second or third chance, and a lot of times if you do that, you’re going to be able to score.”
The Mavericks did so in a 120-114 victory over Minnesota in the rematch of the Western Conference Finals, which the Mavericks won in five games. On Tuesday, Lively had four offensive tackles, the same as PJ Washington. The Mavericks had 23 second-chance points.
In their three wins, the Mavericks are averaging 25.3 second-chance points. In their loss in Phoenix, they had nine.
Lively said after the Minnesota game that he accepted the coaching staff’s request to get a foothold on the boards. Rebounds remain one of the most telling statistics in basketball.
And before the question of what the coaches wanted was over, Lively chimed in.
“Go get it. Every time,” he said.
“I’m just trying to give my team something extra. There are times when there are no options for me to get a lob, for me to get a post-up. So other ways for me to impact the game is to get on the offensive board and get us extra shots.
On the other side, the Mavericks have proven to be a rebounding team, something that should happen given the fact that Lively and Daniel Gafford, his assistant at center, are responsible for protecting the rim.
“Our bigs are doing great,” Kyrie Irving said. “We have to help them when they contest shots. We have the best rim protection in the league. So we have to really protect them and limit teams from getting offensive rebounds.”
And rest assured knowing that Lively will give plenty of second chances to her teammates on the other side.
Here are our other takeaways from Tuesday’s win at Target Center.
Kyrie finishes his work: Anyone remember Kyrie Irving’s wrist surgery over the summer? No, neither do I. The veteran guard is off to a great start to the season. He’s been good so far, averaging 23.8 points, including 35 in Tuesday’s impressive win against Minnesota. Irving’s play in the last two games — both featuring human-style performances by Luka Doncic (combined 15-of-49 shooting) — has been superb. He had 23 points against Utah on Monday and followed that up with 35 in the second night of a back-to-back. Minnesota fans don’t care much for Doncic, but on Tuesday, several could be heard saying that Irving is “just killing us.” Irving said, “I’m really just trying to catch the flow of the game. We have so much talent, sometimes you can get caught watching someone else’s greatness. So you’ve got to continue to make the little plays, the projection, give yourself up for your teammate.” So far, Irving has done just about everything.
Mix and combine: The Mavericks bench has been a thing of beauty so far mainly because of its diversity. Five different players had a big impact in the first four games. On Tuesday, it was Quentin Grimes’ turn, making three of five 3-pointers, two of which came in the third quarter as the Mavericks took control of the game.
It’s no surprise that Luca came to life: Despite missing his first seven three-point shots and going just 10-of-27 from the field overall, Doncic still had the closing shot, a 3-pointer with 1:04 left that put the Mavericks up 117-109. It was no ordinary 3-pointer, but a 32-foot shot that went through the outstretched arm of a defender. This after Luca left the game earlier with a right leg injury. “At times like that, amazing players will bounce back no matter what happens,” Lively said. “I know they’re going to hit him every now and then. Our job is to get him and make him make easy plays.”
So far so good: The Mavericks are 3-1, and while they haven’t looked great throughout, it’s hard to argue with the results. They performed well enough to win some close games early in the season. It’s never too early to stake those Ws. “Everybody’s trying to win,” Kidd said. “Every game means something. We haven’t done our best. I thought this was a step forward for the Mavs to play better basketball as a team. Now we’re home for a while (five games). We have to protect the home. But it was definitely a win we can build on.”
X: @ESefko