Mavericks can't afford to ignore this undeniable red flag about Dereck Lively II

After a Christmas Day nightmare where the Dallas Mavericks saw superstar Luka Doncic suffer a left calf strain that will keep him out for at least one month, the Mavericks have encountered even more adversity as we approach the New Year. In Dallas' Friday night victory over the Phoenix Suns, Naji Marshall was ejected for punching Jusuf Nurkic in the face, and Marshall was subsequently suspended four games for the altercation.

P.J. Washington was also suspended one game because of the debacle, as the NBA cited Washington missing Dallas' Saturday night contest versus Portland because of escalating the on-court altercation. While the Mavericks were able to pull out their Friday night contest versus the Suns behind a stout defensive effort, they aren't catching any breaks currently, and they are forced to continue their next-man-up mentality through the New Year as their roster continues to get decimated.

To add to Dallas' roster deficiencies is yet another injury to young big man Dereck Lively II, as Lively II was announced to be out with a hip contusion ahead of Dallas' Friday night game versus Phoenix, and he ended up missing Saturday night's game as well. Lively II has missed a few games already this season with a shoulder sprain and an illness, and he missed 27 games in his rookie season due to a variety of different injuries.

Dereck Lively II's availability is starting to become a concern

Lively II's availability has started to become a recurring problem through two seasons with the Mavericks, and though there have been non-injury-related factors that have attributed to him missing games, it's definitely worrisome that he continues to miss games given his size and age.

Lively II's hip contusion likely occurred when he was attempting to gather a rebound and Mike Conley collided with his hip late in the game against the Timberwolves on Christmas, and now this seems like an injury that could keep Lively II out for a significant little stretch as he's already missed two games.

It's without a doubt that Lively II has potential to become a perennial All-Defensive center, but to reach his full potential, he has to be on the court on a consistent basis for the Mavericks. While Lively II hasn't missed an alarming amount of games through his first season and a half in the league, it's not encouraging to see him miss the chunk of games that he has in his early career because of how sensitive 7-footers can be to lower body injuries as well as the fact that players that are 20 years old are typically readily available to play nearly all the time.

Lively II hasn't suffered a career-altering injury or something that requires a significant amount of time to be missed, but these minor lower body injuries that he continues to suffer from could easily be lessened if he stays diligent in the weight room and strengthens his legs and core. Lively II's work ethic is unrivaled for his age, and it's without a doubt that he will continue to get stronger and do whatever he can to prevent more of these injuries, but they are definitely something to take bigger notice of going forward given the frequency of them.

Lively II has only played in about 70 percent of games over his first two seasons in the NBA, and the Mavs are going to need him more available moving forward considering his importance to the team.