Former Cavs champ declares he’d take Dereck Lively II over Kristaps Porzingis

The Boston Celtics have already advanced to the 2024 NBA Finals, and the Dallas Mavericks are on the verge of joining them.

If that matchup ends up being the one to decide the championship this season, two big storylines will be the health of big men Kristaps Porzingis and Dereck Lively II. Both players are currently dealing with injuries, but they could end up having major impacts in that potential Finals matchup.

While Porzingis is certainly more of a household name than Lively is, former Cleveland Cavaliers player Channing Frye said he’d rather have Lively than Porzingis in the potential upcoming series.

The conversation began when fellow former Cavs player Richard Jefferson said that the Mavericks would have the top two players in the possible Finals clash in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but the Celtics would have the next five best players after that.

Frye seemingly disagreed.

“This is crazy,” Frye said. “I’ll take Dereck Lively over Porzingis, me personally. Dereck Lively, here’s the most impressive part about Dereck Lively. When they double-team as a rookie, the way he catches and looks to spray or finish is crazy. I’m taking Dereck Lively.”

Porzingis has been out for the Celtics since early on in the playoffs, but his return seems imminent. As for Lively, he suffered a neck injury during Game 3 of his team’s series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Mavs will look to close out that series against the Wolves on Tuesday night. If Lively is forced to sit to continue healing, it will be interesting to see how impacted his team is by that absence.

Lively is just a rookie, but has been instrumental for the Mavs during their deep playoff run. He was a force in Game 3 before he was forced to exit with the neck strain. He had six points, three rebounds and two assists in just nine minutes of playing time in that game.

As for Porzingis, he’s had a nice NBA career thus far. However, he has seemingly struggled to stay healthy at every stop he’s had in the league. He’s been out since suffering a calf strain during his team’s series against the Miami Heat.

Luckily for Boston, every team it has played so far has been down a star or two due to injury. For that reason, Porzingis’ absence hasn’t really been strongly felt.

That likely wouldn’t be the case against the Mavs, though. Surely, both teams are hoping that their big men will be back and ready to go if the Mavs and Celtics do indeed face off against one another on the NBA’s biggest stage next month.