There were plenty of ugly things for Team USA in its loss to Australia on Saturday — most of them on the defensive end — but later in the day on Saturday there was some good news.
It sounds like point guard Derrick White will be fine after his nasty fall and face plant during the game, reports Tom Osborne of the San Antonio Express-News.
A source close to Derrick White said the #Spurs guard passed his first concussion test and suffered no damage to his teeth after last night's nasty spill in Team USA's loss to Australia. The source also confirmed White needed 4 stitches to close a cut over his left eye.
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) August 24, 2019
In the middle of the fourth quarter, White was pushing the ball upcourt after an Australia miss and either got clipped from behind — there was a foul called — or stumbled over his own feet. I lean clipped, but the video is not conclusive.
White fell and faceplanted, with his head bouncing off the court. If he got away with just stitches, that’s good news for Team USA. If White had a concussion it is possible he would have missed the start of the World Cup, and the USA is not deep at the point guard spot on this roster (Kemba Walker and White are the only true point guards, a couple of players such as Marcus Smart can play a few minutes there but aren’t really suited to the position).
Team USA has one more exhibition game against Canada, then opens World Cup play on Sept. 1 in China against the Czech Republic.
