FIBA Friendly: Australia Defeats France; Mavs’ Josh Green Injury Update
As national teams prepare for the FIBA World Cup, which gets underway this week, injuries have been piling up in a handful of these “friendly” exhibition games.
Unfortunately for the Dallas Mavericks, fourth-year guard Josh Green, who was recently moved into Australia’s starting lineup, was the latest player to suffer an injury in a game that technically doesn’t count.
With a little less than eight minutes remaining in the second quarter of Australia’s game against France, Green appeared to suffer a hyperextension in his left leg. He left the game and did not return, but he was seen walking around under his own power later in the game, which is a good sign.
The Boomers went on to defeat France, 78-74. Mavs’ newly-signed reclamation project Dante Exum scored 11 points in the win while playing excellent defense. It appears that Exum has what it takes to crack Jason Kidd’s bench rotation this season, but we’ll find out more when training camp begins at the end of September.
"Bigger picture in all of this, I think we need to play Exum more," Australian national team head coach Brian Goorjian said after Wednesday's loss to Brazil.
Australia’s final exhibition game will be against Georgia on Tuesday. The game can be streamed on the 1891 Courtside app. You’ll be able to watch Luka Doncic and Slovenia, Jalen Brunson and Team USA, and many others in the FIBA World Cup on ESPN+. Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for updates on Green’s injury.
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