Dereck Lively Update!

The former Duke star is making a major impression early with the Mavericks

Dereck Lively, who left Duke after his freshman year to be drafted by the Dallas Mavericks, was valued primarily for his defensive skills. And that’s understandable: when he was fully healthy, he completely changed the trajectory of Duke’s season. It became very difficult to score on the Blue Devils with Lively shutting things down inside.

He wasn’t called on to score at Duke, but people who paid attention understood that he was also a talented offensive player in high school, and that, yes, he had three point range.

Apparently people around the Mavericks and the NBA are catching on to that now.

Somewhat like when he was at Duke, he may not need to shoot threes that much - Dallas does feature Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, and both guys can kill from the perimeter - but they’re figuring out that Lively can go out there too.

And he will.

If you’re curious, the first preseason game for the Mavs is October 5th, and the opponent is the Timberwolves. And that means that you’ll get to see Lively and Wendell Moore at the same time.