The last thing any team needs in the lead-up to the Olympics is an injury to one of its important players. On Sunday, during Australia's final exhibition game in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Dallas Mavericks guard Dante Exum sustained a finger dislocation that immediately forced him to exit the game, according to Olgun Uluc of ESPN.

With around 5:40 left in the second quarter, Exum received the ball on the left wing and drove against French forward Guerschon Yabusele. The Mavericks guard, however, ran into a thicket of defenders in the lane. He had the ball knocked loose, with Bilal Coulibaly swiping at him, and Exum immediately looked at his finger, noticed that something was wrong, and went directly to the Australia bench. He then had his finger checked, and it was confirmed that he had suffered a dislocation — preventing him from returning to the contest.

Dante Exum will have around five more days of rest to see if he could play through his finger dislocation amid the Boomers' bid for another Olympic podium finish — a worthy follow-up to their bronze medal win in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The good news is that Australia has enough depth at the guard positions, and they still managed to pull out an 83-82 victory over France to end their Olympic tune-up season on a high note even with the Mavericks guard leaving early.

Australia can weather the Mavericks guard's absence

The luxury for Australia is that they are very deep at the guard positions. Their rotation is filled with players who can line up not just at the one and the two, but at the three as well, a role that Dante Exum will play on the team, as long as he's healthy.

The Boomers have Dyson Daniels, who scored the game-winner against France on Sunday, who's ready to take on a larger role and he provides a similar impact to Exum on the hardwood. Moreover, Australia still has veterans Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova, while Josh Giddey and Josh Green are more than capable ballhandlers as well, with size to defend bigger players to boot.

It's unclear just how much the dislocated finger will be affecting Dante Exum moving forward. But with the Olympics coming just once every four years, the smart money is to bet on Exum playing through injury as he relishes the opportunity to fight for his country and aid in their quest for another medal.

Previewing the Boomers' Olympic journey

Australia will be looking to overcome the dreaded Group of Death in the 2024 Paris Olympics, beginning with a battle against the mighty Spain on July 27. Spain is always a difficult team to play against in these competitions, as they are very well-coached and they have a few NBA veterans leading the way.

Australia then has to take on a Canada team led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray on July 30, and then they'll be ending their group stage journey with a tussle against Giannis Antetokounmpo's Greece. Simply put, the Boomers will need Dante Exum's defense to help their cause.