Mavericks' Dereck Lively: Out 2-to-3 months with foot fracture

Lively was diagnosed Wednesday with a small fracture in his right foot and is expected to miss 2-to-3 months, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

After a slow start to the season, Lively appeared to have established himself as the Mavericks' clear No. 1 center ahead of Daniel Gafford while averaging 26.8 minutes per game over Dallas' first six games of the new year before exiting early in a Jan. 14 loss to the Nuggets with what was labeled as a right ankle sprain. Lively proceeded to miss the next three games, and after further examination, he was determined to have suffered structural damage to his foot. With Lively now in store for an absence that looks set to stretch into at least late March, Gafford should be in for an extended run as the team's starting center, making him a must-roster option in every format. Gafford has averaged 22.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and 2.3 assists in 28.0 minutes over the last three contests while Lively has been sidelined.