The Mavericks are looking to complete a sweep of the Timberwolves on their home floor Tuesday night, but they’ll likely have to do so without a key contributor off the bench.
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The Mavericks are looking to complete a sweep of the Timberwolves on their home floor Tuesday night, but they’ll likely have to do so without a key contributor off the bench.
Rookie center Dereck Lively II took a knee to the neck from Karl-Anthony Towns in the first half of Dallas’ 116-107 win over Minnesota on Sunday and is expected to miss Game 4, leaving Daniel Gafford as the Mavericks’ only true center in their rotation.
Since coming over from the Wizards in February, Gafford has largely split minutes at the five spot with Lively. Both players are averaging more than 20 minutes per game this postseason.
While Dallas will almost certainly have to play small at times Tuesday, those minutes are all Gafford’s for the time being as the Mavericks try to counter the size of Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid.
Although he only scored five points, Gafford played 29 minutes during Sunday’s win with Lively in the locker room, a playoff-high and the second-most he’s played as a Maverick.
Barring foul trouble, Gafford should play close to or more than 30 minutes once again, which will help boost his counting stats.
Over the past two series, Gafford has averaged 10.8 points per game – and that’s with his positional peer in the lineup.
Gafford’s point total Tuesday is sitting at just 11.5, just a tick above where he’s been over the past few weeks.
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In 10 games with the Mavericks with Lively out, Gafford saw a slight uptick in his numbers, averaging 12.8 points per game.
Look for a ton of Luka Doncic lobs to go his way Tuesday.
The play: Daniel Gafford Over 11.5 points (+100, FanDuel)
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