The Dallas Mavericks rookie Dereck Lively II has stepped up this season for the franchise and Wednesday night’s game 5 performance maintained the same trend for the 20-year-old. His namesake, Derrick Jones Jr., also is a player improving his game in the Mavs set-up.
After their game 5 win against the OKC Thunder, the duo sat together for the post-match press conference and a reporter asked them about the correct way to pronounce Dereck and Derrick. The question was understandable given the close proximity of their names and the two players pronounced their own versions of their names.
Derrick’s way of spelling was “just nasty” to Dereck, the center said, to which the 27-year-old responded by saying, “I’m not gonna say what I really want to say, so we just gonna leave it at that.” The reporter insisted on Derrick saying his mind but both of them looked wary of what he had in mind and judging by their reaction it could’ve landed them in hot waters with the NBA.
The brotherhood and chemistry between the pair was evident, which has been a theme for the Dallas Mavericks throughout the season. Dereck Lively II is flourishing into a player to keep an eye on and is already making history for the franchise.
Derek Lively II Creates Mavs History
On Wednesday night, both Dereck and Derrick played a critical role in the 104-92 win over OKC. Jones Jr. scored 19 points in the 28 minutes he played and Dereck Lively recorded an 11-point double-double thanks to his 10 rebounds. This double-double made him the youngest Mavs player in playoff history to achieve that feat.
The former Duke center joined Roy Tarpley, Sam Perkins, Dale Ellis and Marquis Daniels as the only rookies who scored a postseason double-double.
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Dereck Lively II averaged 8.8 points per game, 6.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.4 blocks this season while scoring 74.7% from the field. In the playoffs, his minutes were limited, but he made sure those were memorable ones. One of those was his massive alley-oop dunk from a Luka Doncic dime which went viral for both the assist and the finish.
The Mavs will host the OKC for game 6 at the American Airlines Center on Saturday and the duo of Dereck and Derrick will be hopeful of creating some chaos among the Oklahoma ranks.
