Dallas Mavericks Rookies Lively And Prosper Will Start First Preseason Game

Forbes Business SportsMoney Dallas Mavericks Rookies Lively And Prosper Will Start First Preseason Game Doyle Rader Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Following Sep 30, 2023, 11:39pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 13: Dereck Lively II #2 and Olivier-Maxence Prosper #18of the Dallas . .

. [+] Mavericks poses for a portrait during the 2023 NBA rookie photo shoot at UNLV on July 13, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) Getty Images Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper are getting plenty of attention during the Dallas Mavericks’ training camp.

Dallas drafted Lively and Prosper with the No. 12 and No. 24 picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, respectively.

The pair could see significant minutes this season after strong performances during Summer League in July. According to Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, there’s an expectation that Lively and Prosper will start the season as members of the regular rotation. More than that, Kidd believes that there’s a real possibility that one of them—specifically Lively—will be a starter when Dallas opens the regular season on the road against the San Antonio Spurs on October 25.

“You look at D-Live and the things that he’s done since August, he’s taken a big, big jump for us here late being able to play with Luka in pickup games,” Kidd told media members Thursday. “There’s some excitement between those two. But I think the big thing is O-Max and D-Live have worked extremely hard.

When we talk about starting them, one of them probably will be a starter with us. ” Kidd caveats that statement with the need to see Lively and Prosper play more with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and new addition and projected starter Grant Williams. “So far, so good,” Kidd said of the results in practice.

It won’t be long before Kidd, and fans can watch the two rookies play alongside that trio in a real game. Kidd has said several times that he plans to roll them out as starters when Dallas takes on the Minnesota Timberwolves in its first preseason game in the United Arab Emirates during the 2023 NBA Abu Dhabi Games next week. MORE FOR YOU Government Shutdown Averted: Senate Approves Last-Minute Stopgap Bill The Top 10 Richest People In The World (October 2023) The Starting Pitching That Undercut A Hopeful Cincinnati Reds Season “[I’m looking] just to see how they handle different situations,” Kidd told the media Saturday.

“They’ll start with Ky and Luka and Grant. So, I’m excited to see how they handle that. They’ve done the work, but sometimes the lights can be a little different seeing a different opponent, but I think they’re going to handle it great.

O-Max and D-Live have been really, really good in camp so far. ” Lively, who is perhaps unfairly compared to Tyson Chandler by media members, believes that the skills he and Prosper possess complement those of Doncic, Irving and Williams. He also sees the opportunity to play alongside the Mavericks’ starters as a learning opportunity.

“I feel like me and O definitely fit in very well,” Lively said on Media Day. “I feel like we complement everybody’s flashy game with our dirty work game. Me and O-Max try and handle things on the defensive ends and try to make things on the offensive end easier for our one-two combo.

Since I’ve been getting reps in with this group, and getting reps in like that, it makes me want to just focus and learn that much more. ” Much like Lively, Prosper is soaking up as much as he can from the veterans he’s playing with in the starting unit. He also feels that while they help him be a better player, he also compliments who they are and what they are capable of on the floor.

“It’s been awesome,” Prosper said during his Media Day press conference. “It’s been awesome learning from those guys — guys like Kyrie, Luka and Grant, who’ve been in the league for a minute now. I’ve just been asking so many questions about everything.

They’ve been awesome with me, just guiding me through everything and helping me to be my best self out there to help them be their best. ” Beyond the opportunity to start in preseason and potentially in the regular season, Kidd and the team expect the rookies to become leaders. Kidd wants them to set a tone on the defensive end of the floor and bring their energy every night.

“The biggest thing is we’re going to lean heavy on our two rookies with their energy and their excitement and their ability to play defense,” Kidd said Wednesday. “You look at Dereck Live—D-Live—and O-Max, those guys. We’re going to ask them to be leaders too, even though they’re rookies.

” It hasn’t always been common to see Dallas rookies suit up and play meaningful minutes, let alone appear in the starting lineup, but Kidd is changing that. It’s not the first time he’s given a young player a chance to prove himself on the court with the Mavericks, and he feels that Lively and Prosper have earned their opportunity to start. “I’ve done this with all the rookies,” Kidd said Thursday.

“With Josh Green, we did this when I first got here to make sure that he plays with the first group just to see what he can do. We tend to put the young guys with the stars just to see how they handle the situation. “And so for those two [Lively and Prosper], they’ve done a really good job so far.

But again, they’ve done the work since we’ve had them in July and August. So, we’ll see how they handle playing with Luka, Ky and Grant. ” Follow me on Twitter .

Doyle Rader Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.