Lively’s teammates want him to think, act and play like a veteran

MINNEAPOLIS – He may be an NBA rookie on paper. But the last thing Dereck Lively II’s teammates want him to do is think, act and play like he’s an impressionable rookie.

Instead, they want him to think, act and play like he’s a wily veteran.

“I’m a rookie,” said Lively, who is fresh out of college and in his first season with the Dallas Mavericks. “I’m not going to be perfect.

“But my teammates say go out there and be a vet, go out there and make vet plays, go out there and think like a vet and play like a vet, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do.”

Not only has Lively been following his veteran teammate’s orders. He’s almost mastering those orders as a mere 20-year old, uh, rookie.

In the four games he played for the Mavs against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the Western Conference Finals, Lively was a perfect 16-of-16 from the field while averaging 9.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 22 minutes per contest. That includes scoring nine points, grabbing eight rebounds, blocking three shots and going 3-for-3 from the field in Thursday’s 124-103 victory over the Timberwolves to close out the best-of-seven series in five games.

Lively’s performance was pivotal in helping the Mavs advance to the NBA Finals, where they’ll open a best-of-seven series in Boston against the Celtics on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. It all seems so surreal for Lively, who played one year at Duke before declaring for the NBA Draft last summer, where he was chosen 10^th overall on the first round.

“I still feel like I’m in a dream,” the 7-1, 230-pound Lively said. “Pinch me. I definitely never imagined this.

“I never imagined a season like this. I never imagined being on a team like this and having a family like this.”

So, where did Lively actually imagine his pro career would be at this juncture?

“The G-League, grind, just the normal thing of a rookie,” he said. “I didn’t realize I was going to come and be able to have the impact that I have now.

“So, whenever I came here and I made the impact, I just knew it was time for me to grow, it’s time for me to get better, it’s time for me to learn, and time for me to expand my game.”

As this season progressed, Lively did indeed expand his game. He went from a rookie just trying to fit in while finding his role, to a player who was doing impactful veteran-like things.

Lively was clogging up the lane on the defensive end. When he wasn’t blocking shots, he was altering them. And on the offensive end, he had become a master tactician at receiving a pass around the rim and ending the play with a dunk.

All of that dominance enabled Lively to earn a spot on the NBA’s all-rookie second team, a recognition Lively wears like a badge of honor.

“Whenever I feel my teammates lean on me, it makes me want to step up even more,” Lively said. “No matter if it’s a lob, no matter if it’s a block, no matter if it’s a stop, I know my teammates trust me because I trust them.”

That also includes the trust coach Jason Kidd has bestowed upon Lively. Kidd knows Lively – with that long and lanky athletic frame — is no ordinary rookie.

That’s why when Lively missed Game 4 against the Timberwolves with a neck sprain, it’s no coincidence that’s the only game the Mavs lost in this series.

“I think when you talk about his spirit, his energy, his ability to protect the rim, and then offensively being able to have the vertical game, and then also being able to get offensive rebounds,” Kidd said, in sizing up Lively. “It was something that we missed (in Game 4).

“But having Lively gives us the ability to stay big and athletic.”

Lively just appreciates the overwhelming confidence Kidd has in him not only thriving, but in having a massive impact as the backup to starting center Daniel Gafford.

“Jason Kidd, there’s times where he’s just been telling me to slow down and just play,” Lively said. “(He said) stop trying to over-think the game and just go out there and play basketball, and that’s what I do.

“Putting trust in a rookie is not heard of. My team trusts me to make mistakes and my team also trusts me to learn from those mistakes.”

Lively also has learned that he has to trust the teammates and coaches in the Mavs’ locker room. After all, the Mavs were underdogs in the three playoff series this year against the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves, and all the Mavs did was win, win, win.

By the way, the Mavs are again underdogs in this championship series against the Celtics.

“We don’t care what nobody got to say about us,” Lively said. “We don’t care what the media got to say. We show up and we hoop.”

And with some valuable assistance from Lively, the Mavs have been hooping pretty darn good in this year’s playoffs.

X: @DwainPrice