Surprising new skill in Dereck Lively II's game hints at legendary future for Mavs

The Dallas Mavericks showed off their skills in their first preseason game on Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Even though the Mavs fell short, Memphis is a well-balanced team with lots of skill on all sides and four of Dallas' five starters didn't play while the Grizzlies nearly played everyone.

There were still plenty of takeaways from the Mavs, especially from a young man who is expected to skyrocket in his sophomore season.

Dereck Lively II putting the ball on the floor is another sneaky skill

The big man keeps on adding to his bag.

During their game against Memphis, we saw Dereck Lively II do something he'd never done before.

Lively II took a pass from the opposite free throw line, put the ball on the deck, took it all the way to the rim, and laid it in after a spin move.

The announcers were also in shock to see such a play from a man who's normally a rim runner at 7-foot-1.

This highlight play had already added on to an already stellar performance from Lively II.

Lively II had an impressive night with Daniel Gafford getting the starting nod. It won't be long until we see Lively II get those starts as Kidd alluded to Lively II starting on Thursday.

The big man says he's been working to expand his game "as much as possible."

We've heard so much in the offseason about Lively II expanding his game. We saw shades of it near the end of last season against Boston when he made his first NBA 3-pointer in the NBA Finals.

We're not expecting Lively II to be shooting six 3-pointers in a game, and we're definitely not expecting him to put it on the deck often, but adding this to his game is significant enough to draw attention. He showed that he at least has this in his bag whenever needed, and that is a huge step in his development.

Lively II will be looked at as a rim protector and dominant pick-and-roll player. This is just another part of his game that will be needed in case of an emergency.

Every team looks for that quick bucket when they need one. Lively II taking it down the whole court can be a case where Dallas can use that in an emergency.

Jason Kidd made the right decision going with Lively II to start on opening night.

He's the younger guy that's only going to get more productive if you give him the minutes.

This was just one play, sure, but this is exactly what he means by working on expanding his game. If Lively II can continue working like that around the court, he can be an all-around legend one day.

The defense, rim rolling, and energy are a given. Everything else is a cherry on top.