Former Duke basketball star Dereck Lively already earned tons of new fans through the NBA playoffs this postseason, putting up multiple double-doubles as a rookie shortly after his mother passed away.
However, a knee to the back of the head in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals kept him out of Tuesday’s game, and WFAA’s Zachary Yanes wrote on Thursday that the 7-footer’s status for Game 5 remains uncertain.
Lively, who said he was worried the contact would result in a concussion, provided a positive update for his overall health hours ahead of the game.
“I’m here, 20-20 vision, I’m able to speak, I’m able to remember,” Lively said.
However, the former Blue Devil added that his neck locked up after the incident and, while he didn’t call it pain, he said he remained uncomfortable.
“Just trying to be able to just be more cautious of my body,” Lively said. “Trying to figure out what I can and can’t do, just testing it out.”
Lively said time will tell if he can play in Thursday’s game. The Mavericks lead Minnesota 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, so a win would send Dallas to the NBA Finals against Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics.