San Antonio Spurs Injury Report: Derrick White out 6-to-8 weeks

Guard Derrick White will miss 6-to-8 weeks with a heel injury just after being named starter by head coach Gregg Popovich.

It was announced last night that Derrick White would be sitting out Friday’s preseason finale against the Orlando Magic as White dealt with a sore left heel. That situation quickly escalated this morning.

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News reported early today that White would now be out for 6-8 weeks.

Morw bad news for the Spurs Derrick White is going to miss 6 to 8 weeks with a heel injury, Gregg Popovich says. Story to come.

— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) October 12, 2018

This is an absolutely brutal loss for the Spurs. They’ve been hit harder by injuries than any team in the NBA so far, and it’s not even the regular season yet.

First it was Lonnie Walker’s meniscus. Recovering from that surgery is expected to sideline the University of Miami product for 6-8 weeks. Then it was Dejounte Murray. A torn ACL will cause him to miss the entire season. Now, the man who was tapped to replace Murray will also miss significant time.

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At this point the Spurs might have to consider asking Becky Hammon to suit up for the squad.

Seriously though, it’s been heartbreaking to see the Spurs young guards get hurt one after another in such quick succession. Any area that seemed so promising just a few weeks ago is now a major concern for San Antonio.

A lot of Spurs fans are really missing Tony Parker right now.

Who will be the starting point guard for the Spurs on opening night? Patty Mills stands out as the obvious replacement. He’s always been more of a pure scorer than a traditional point guard. That’s partially why White was tapped as Murray’s replacement in the first place.

Mills is a serviceable starter, he would fill the role well. Bryn Forbes will also likely be asked to take on a larger role in initiating the offense. DeMar DeRozan is equally capable of bringing the ball up the court.

With Murray out for the entire season it wouldn’t be too surprising to see San Antonio sign a veteran point guard off the free agent market. There are several options out there right now. Jameer Nelson, Aaron Brooks, and Mario Chalmers are a few names that you could see on the Spurs roster in the coming weeks.

In any case, this is an incredibly tough loss for San Antonio to endure. This is not at all the start to the season that Spurs fans had envisioned.