MINNEAPOLIS – If basketball players had theme songs, Dwight Powell maybe could consider Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now.”
Powell was cleared to play Wednesday night against Minnesota despite suffering from a corneal abrasion on his left eye. He had missed four games, plus all but one minute of Monday’s Orlando game.
He wore a pair of snappy protective glasses at shootaround at Target Center and for the game.
Asked how the eyewear impacts him, the veteran big man said: “We shall see. (I can see) through the glass part. No excuses.”
Powell said he has been improving from the abrasion, but it’s been no fun to go through.
“It’s because I wear contacts as well, which I probably shouldn’t have been doing during that time,” he said. “I didn’t know what exactly was going on. So it got irritated. But it’s getting sorted out. It’s feeling better now.”
He said he will revisit the eye doctor in Dallas later this week.
Powell entered Wednesday’s game midway through the first quarter and had an immediate impact with a couple of hustling rebounds, although he did miss two free throws.
Like pretty much all the Mavericks, his numbers were not good. But the fact that he was on the floor was the headline.
Coach Jason Kidd watched Powell closely to make sure the goggles were not impacting him.
“I think we’re going to find out together if he can see out of the glasses,” Kidd said pregame. “He’s available. I think he can see.”
Kidd said he rarely had to wear protective eyewear during his 19-year playing career. He said things were a bit different during his generation of players.
“Yeah, sometimes you get poked in the eye on accident and that’s what you have to revert to, the Kareem goggles,” he said, referring to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who wore the big goggles routinely. “It wasn’t out of fashion. We didn’t have the Oakleys or fashionable goggles of today.
“And then a lot of times, they fogged up so you got rid of them pretty much before halftime. But I’m just happy that DP is available. And so far, he can see.”
Lively’s career off to “unbelievable” start: The selection of Dereck Lively II to the Rising Stars Game during All-Star Weekend was no surprise, but still is something to celebrate for the franchise.
“It’s well-deserved and a great experience for Lively and it’s great for the organization,” Kidd said. “We all know that he fits what we’re trying to do.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for a young player with his family and also a teammate of his will also be there. It should be a fun weekend for the Lively family but also well-deservered with his play.”
Lively was not on the trip to Minnesota because of a broken nose suffered Monday against Orlando.
Powell was in the Rising Stars game during his second season in the league (2015-16). He also is one of the Mavericks’ big men who mentors Lively as much as he can.
“I’m super-excited for him,” Powell said. “He’s having a great year so far. He’s stepped up for us in a huge way.
“He’s kicking off his career in an unbelievable way. He’s got the worker’s mentality and he’s going to continue to improve. And hopefully he’ll be at more All-Stars after his first and second year. It’ll be a good experience for him. But don’t have too much fun. We got more work to do when he gets back.”
Briefly: Because of the manpower shortage, the Mavericks utilized O-Max Prosper in the rotation for the first time since December, although he has seen some action in blowout situations since then. Prosper has played occasionally for the Texas Legends in Frisco. “He’s done great with the Legends and this gives him the opportunity tonight to play,” Kidd said before the game. “We’re going to try to maximize as many minutes as we can for him for the experience and to give him NBA minutes.” Prosper had six points and four rebounds in 20 minutes . . . The Mavericks were outrebounded 45-31 and made just 6-of-29 three-point tries (20.7 percent . . . The Timberwolves also shot 56 percent from the field, but just 60 percent from the free-throw line.
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