Mavericks center Dereck Lively II is set to re-join his Dallas comrades for a Wednesday night tilt against Atlanta, per a team press release (via Twitter).
He has missed 36 consecutive contests for the Mavericks. The second-year pro has been on the shelf since January 14 with a right ankle stress fracture.
Dallas head coach Jason Kidd told reporters that the 7’1″ big man will be laboring on a 15-minute restriction, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).
Ahead of the postseason, a lot of previously-ailing Mavericks are healing. Beyond Lively, fellow big men Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford recent returned to the lineup. Among their core rotation, only nine-time All-Star guard Kyrie Irving — the team’s most important player — is out long-term, as he recuperates from surgery to address an ACL tear. Forward P.J. Washington is also out, for now, with an undisclosed illness.
Before his injury, the Duke alum took over starting duties at the five over Gafford early into the season. It remains to be seen how Kidd will ultimately shuffle his big man rotation with Davis, Lively and Gafford all having started at center for the team this year.
In his 32 healthy games for the team, including 25 starts, Lively has been averaging 9.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.7 BPG.
At present, the Mavericks occupy the No. 9 seed in the competitive Western Conference. They’re just 0.5 games clear of the No. 10-seeded Kings, and two games up on the No. 11-seeded Suns.