Mavericks key role player's unexpected injury puts team in scary spot

On Monday evening, Jason Kidd's pregame press conference was normal.

He started off the presser by announcing the medical updates, announcing that both Maxi Kleber and Dante Exum would be out with injuries. Both players have been out for some time, as Exum had wrist surgery and Kleber strained his hamstring.

Both of these updates were expected ahead of the Dallas Mavericks' game against the Indiana Pacers, but a different update rolled in just over 45 minutes before the game that has Mavs fans concerned.

Lively II's injury send Mavericks' center depth to scary-low levels

Dereck Lively II was ruled out for the game against Indiana with a shoulder sprain, and this couldn't have come at a worse time as he was healthy for the entire preseason and played in the first six regular season games.

Lively II was out on the floor getting ready for the game during Kidd's presser, and he has proven time and time again that he is one of the most important players on the team regardless of if he is in the starting lineup or not.

Lively II has been excellent in his role off the bench, and him spraining his shoulder in warmups is not the news that Mavs fans were hoping for ahead of Dallas' game against the Pacers. He is a key role player off the bench, and without Lively II, their depth is going to be tested deeply.

Dallas' one-two punch of Daniel Gafford and Lively II at center is among one of the best center duos in the league, but their depth at that position outside of those two is questionable. Dwight Powell will likely have to step up and play some big minutes at the five due to Kleber and Lively II being unavailable, and while we know he will bring energy, it will be extremely challenging for him to make an impact near to that of Lively II.

During the time near the beginning of the season when Lively II was hurt last year, Dallas struggled. It was clear that he was extremely to Dallas' success right away. The Mavs looked like a completely different team when he missed time with injury, and although Dallas has Gafford now, losing Lively II for any period of time won't be easy.

His rim rolling, defense, and energy are unreplaceable, and Dallas will have to dig deep depending on how Lively II will be sidelined.

Lively II's rookie year was filled with adversity considering all of the freak injuries that he suffered, and Dallas needs him healthy. He only played in 55 games as a rookie, and after a strong start to the season, he may be missing some time.

We currently don't have any details on Lively II's injury outside of the fact that it happened before the game and he'll miss the game against the Pacers, but we should know more about the severity of the injury and exactly what happened following Kidd's postgame press conference later this evening.