Will Dereck Lively II play against the Timberwolves in game 5? Injury update

The Dallas Mavericks are looking to make some fresh history for the franchise and feature in the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years. It all looked as though it was going to be done in style, as they went into Game 4 with a surprise sweep over the Minnesota Timberwolves on the cards. But that wasn’t to be.

However, the Luka Doncic-Kyrie Irving duo have been outstanding when most needed against one of the standout teams this season, and they’ll look to take their place in the title showdown series against the Celtics by keeping Anthony Edwards & co at bay. Chris Finch’s players may have stopped the sweep but they’ll know that no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit. And the Mavs may have an important return.

Why Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II is questionable for Game 5

Game 4′s loss came as the Mavs did without Dereck Lively II. The rookie center was suffering from a collision in Game 3 that resulted in what was described as a neck sprain, although some people had initially pointed to a potential concussion given his movement. The incident happened when the player tried to collect a rebound and Minnesota star Karl-Anthony Towns landed his knee in the back of Lively’s head. The 20-year-old remained on the floor for several minutes as the team’s staff assisted him to the locker room.

The rookie center averaged 9.7 points with 7.7 rebound, playing around 20 minutes per game in the Western Conference Finals. And the positive news is that Lively II has been upgraded to questionable for Game 5 so we’ll have to wait until closer to tip off to know for sure. If he misses out again, Daniel Gafford will likely get more court time, while Dwight Powell will replace him when needed.