PHOENIX — At the 30-game mark of the season, the Mavericks have a solid 18-12 record.
It’s even more impressive when you factor Dereck Lively II into the equation.
The Mavericks are 17-7 with Lively in the lineup. They are 1-5 without him. And it wasn’t until Saturday against San Antonio that they got that lone win without their starting center.
Lively was back in the lineup Monday against the Suns after missing four games with a sprained left ankle. He missed two other games earlier in the season, both losses.
“We missed him,” coach Jason Kidd said. “I think we hadn’t won a game (without him) until the last game, so it just shows the importance of what he brings to us as a 19-year-old rookie. I think we’re all happy to have him back.”
No doubt.
Lively returned to play just under 32 minutes and contribute 20 points and 10 rebounds, continuing to work seamlessly with Luka.
It didn’t take long for him to make an impact. Dončić found him for two point-blank buckets in the first three minutes of the game and Lively impacted or blocked three shots before he sat down for the first time just over four minutes into the game.
“Obviously, I knew he was going to be great, but the way he’s performed since the first game has been amazing,” Dončić said. “I didn’t expect this impact of him. He’s been playing like he’s been in the league 10 years already. I’m really proud of this guy. He works on his game and he listens to me.”
Kidd said he felt like the 7-1 Lively was fast-tracked for success early in his career by the way he handled the Mavericks’ busy preseason, part of which was spent in the Middle East playing two games against Minnesota’s big men Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.
“I thought Abu Dhabi, going against Rudy and KAT was a great test for him to understand where he felt he was but where the group thought he was,” Kidd said. “From that point, he started to pay attention a little more, understanding that this is a little bigger than Duke or AAU basketball. I truly believe that was a great experience for him, even though he might not have played well or the team didn’t win, we got to see him grow up very fast.”
And, it was the first step toward Lively learning how to mesh with superstar point guard Luka Dončić.
“This what Luka has enjoyed – having a center that can roll and be able to catch and finish,” Kidd said.
And it was a welcomed sight to have him back against the Suns.
Suns sticking together: The Suns have been one of the league’s disappointments so far this season, floating at .500 going into the Christmas game.
They have fought injuries, particularly to Bradley Beal (ankle), the high-priced addition that they acquired in the Chris Paul trade.
Sticking together is always challenging when a team expected to contend for a title is muddling along at this point of the season.
“Cohesion with a new group is very, very unpredictable,” coach Frank Vogel said. “Sometimes it takes flight right away. Sometimes, it takes time, especially when you have injuries slowing down the process.
“Hopefully we can settle into a stable rotation here at some point. We’re evaluating everybody’s roles, looking to find something that’s going to click for us. We’re not far away. And we’re especially not going to be far away when Bradley Beal gets back to our lineup. We still remain very confident that it’s going to get going.”
Briefly: With Lively’s return, Kidd elected to move Grant Williams to a sixth-man role, starting Tim Hardaway Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr. in the front court with Lively. Dante Exum joined Luka in the back court . . . Kyrie Irving (right heel), Josh Green (right elbow) and Maxi Kleber (right small toe) remained out . . . The Suns were without starters Jusuf Nurkic and Bradley Beal.
X: @ESefko
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