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Dallas Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II had an emotional playoff debut after his mother’s death

Lively’s mother Kathy Drysdale died on April 12, Lively had been away from the team in order to care for her.

LOS ANGELES – Three weeks after spraining his right knee and nine days after the death of his mother, 20-year-old Dereck Lively II not only made his NBA playoff debut Sunday but did so amid the bright lights and heightened pomp of Crypto.com Arena.

The Mavericks rookie had moments of nervousness, including when his first shot, a layup, failed to touch the rim, but under the circumstances, Lively’s 19-minute, 3-block Game 1 performance against the Clippers certainly was far more impressive than that of his team in the 12-point loss.

Especially when one considers what Lively said following the Mavericks’ Monday practice in Crypto.com Arena, speaking to reporters for the first time about the emotional toll of losing his mother, Kathy Drysdale, after her 11-year battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

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“This is the only place where I can come and smile.”

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Lively in fact seemed upbeat as he sat in a courtside chair, enveloped by the sounds of squeaking sneakers, teammate chatter and the thump of basketballs.

Don’t refer to them as teammates in 7-1 Lively’s presence, though, given his connection with them and others in the Mavericks organization.

“They’re my family,” he said.

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“It’s hard, man. It’s hard being able to try to, not move on, but not act like nothing happened. You’ve got to be able to keep it keeping moving. That’s what my mom would want me to do.”

Before Drysdale died on April 12, Lively mostly had been away from the team in order to care for her, but also rehab his right knee, which he sprained against Houston on March 31.

The Mavericks hosted Detroit that night, in the regular season’s next-to-last game. Lively came to the morning shootaround and asked coach Jason Kidd if he could address the team.

After shootaround, he returned to be by his 53-year-old mother’s side and was there when she passed away. He attended that night’s game and wore a No. 42 Mavericks jersey with “Drysdale” on the back. That is the jersey number she wore while starring at Penn State from 1988 to 1992.

“My mom was on her deathbed and she shrugged her shoulders and acted like nothing was happening,” Lively said. “She said ‘I’m fine. I’m staying here. I ain’t going nowhere.’

“Being able to see that attitude, seeing that grace in her, makes me realize: All right, I’ve got to continue. I’ve got to make sure I do good. She passed the torch on to me and I’ve got to carry it now.”

Lively said he thought it was important to address the team on that April 12 morning to explain what he had been going through as Kathy’s condition worsened in recent weeks. He said he needed to explain why he had not been as joyous as his usual self.

“There’s definitely been a change in my character,” he said. “A change of what’s been going on in my head. ... “But whenever I got on the court, it just seemed like everything was fine, where I could finally come back and have a moment with myself.”

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Against the Clippers in Game 1, Lively entered just 3:19 into the game, when starting center Daniel Gafford was whistled for his second foul.

Gafford, Lively and to a lesser extent Maxi Kleber struggled to contain Clippers counterpart Ivica Zubac, who punished Dallas with 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Lively said the Mavericks were not disciplined in their game plan to box Zubac out with two bodies when necessary. Offensively, Lively said, the Mavericks centers didn’t hold their screens long enough to free Luka Doncic to get to the painted area when Zubac switched into drop coverage.

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“We’ve seen what he can do,” Lively said of Zubac. “Now we’ve got to be able to adjust.”

Coach Jason Kidd on Monday said there might have been jitters for Mavericks making their playoff debut, Lively and P.J. Washington; and for Gafford, whose only previous postseason appearance was in 2021.

“When you talk about D-Live and his ability to learn, to go through different life experiences that we all know that he’s going through right now, just to absorb that, and to learn from that, that’s what the young man has done all season,” Kidd said.

“He’s learned what the NBA is all about, and he has played for us at a high level — and we’re going to need him in Game 2 to do that for us.”

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In addition to attending home games, Drysdale had spent a lot of time around the organization after moving to Dallas with Dereck after the Mavericks acquired him on draft night, as the No. 12 overall pick.

Drysdale primarily raised her son as a single parent. Dereck Lively Sr. died of an overdose in 2011, when his son was 7, after years of battling cocaine and heroin addiction.

Lively’s return from time away was warmly received by teammates, but certainly not only because he was needed on the court.

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“He’s a great kid,” Doncic said. “Having him back is a big moment. We’ve just got to all help him. We’re with him. We are his second family and we can all help him and make him feel comfortable.”

Returning to Los Angeles and Crypto.com Arena conjured extra memories and emotion for Lively.

It was here where Lively, during a game against the Lakers on Nov. 22, had his legs undercut by Anthony Davis, causing him to land hard on his lower back.

That was two nights before Thanksgiving. The Mavericks remained in their Santa Monica beachfront hotel for three more days before facing the Clippers. Drysdale was among the players’ family members who stayed in the team hotel, where they had Thanksgiving lunch together.

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Lively spent those three days on crutches, including for that loss to the Clippers. Lively said those memories came flooding back when the Mavericks arrived for Game 1.

“Whenever I came in, I was like, ‘Wow, I remember I was I couldn’t even walk up that ramp to get out here,” he said. “It makes it seem like the season has been so long, but it really hasn’t. To me, it feels like that was like years ago, but it was only a couple months ago.”

On draft night 10 months ago, Kathy, with Dereck seated next to her on a couch, said on national TV: “I’m so proud of everything that he’s been through. To persevere through everything and work hard and know what he wants to do, I’m honored to be his mother.”

The young center who arrived in Dallas beyond his years has experienced much this season: Outplaying Victor Wembanyama in the season opener; starting 42 games; and sustaining four separate prolonged injury absences.

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And he’s endured things no 20-year-old — NBA player or otherwise — should have to experience.

A 1-0 playoff deficit against the Clippers doesn’t seem daunting by comparison.

“People think there’s a lot of eyes on us; there’s always a lot of pressure on us,” he said. “But we’re playing basketball. We’re playing a game that I’ve loved since I was a kid.

“Whenever I’m dribbling a basketball, I can trust that it will come back up to me — just like I know, whenever I talk to my teammates, I’m going to be able to get the same energy right back.”

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