Mavericks' strange Dereck Lively II injury update turns optimism into sudden panic

On Friday night, Dallas Mavericks fans took a sigh of relief right around the time of tipoff.

While fans' excitement was high as the team was gearing up to battle their heated rival, the Oklahoma City Thunder, they also got a sense of excitement when they saw Dereck Lively II sitting on the bench. Lively II sprained his ankle on Tuesday night in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets, and just three days later he was walking and not using crutches.

This non-verbal injury update from Lively II gave fans hope that his return is coming soon considering that he was walking without a walking boot and the X-rays came back negative earlier in the week, but Jason Kidd's update on Lively II was the complete opposite of optimistic.

Kidd delivers concerning update on Lively II's injury status

Before Dallas' game against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, Kidd said that Lively II is not close to returning to the lineup when asked about it in his pregame press conference, which is especially strange since he was listed as questionable beforehand. This answer from Kidd reveals that he may not be day-to-day right now, and his injury may be more severe than initially expected. This was a punch in the gut to Mavs fans who thought he had a chance at returning this week, and their upcoming schedule is looking like a nightmare.

Dallas plays the Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Boston Celtics all within the next five days, and having Lively II back for at least one of those games could be game-changing. Despite Daniel Gafford having some massive games recently, including a monster performance against the Hornets, Lively II matches up better against teams with floor-stretching bigs than him, and all three of these teams have bigs who are good perimeter shooters.

This is the exact stretch that Dallas needs Lively II to be healthy for, but it doesn't look like he is going to be ready to roll for at least one of these games.

After missing Monday's game against Charlotte, Lively II has now missed over 25 percent of the Mavs' games this season after missing nearly a third of Dallas' games last season, and his injury luck has been horrible over his first two seasons in the NBA. He hasn't been able to stay fully healthy over long stretches of time outside of last season's playoffs, and his importance to the team is truly immeasurable.

Lively II has shown signs that he should be able to grow into a franchise cornerstone one day, but he is going to have to find a way to stay on the floor and healthy for extended stretches. His health has been a major roadblock in his development so far, and Dallas can't afford to have him miss so many games considering how much better they are when he is in the lineup. So far this season, Lively II has not played more than 10 consecutive games without missing a game, and the same can be said about last season.

In order for him to reach his full potential, his reliability and durability must improve, and that should naturally happen as time goes on and he gets stronger. Lively II is only 20 years old, and as he grows into his frame and gets more used to the NBA workload and duration of the season, better durability should follow.