Indiana Pacers star player Paul George went down injured with a horrific lower leg injury during the USA men’s basketball team showcase game, on Friday August 1st. The incident happened in the first minute of the fourth quarter, when Paul George went up to block a James Harden layup, and landed very awkwardly on his right leg, which is when the break occurred. This led to the game being abandoned. USA coach Mike Krzyzewski announced to the crowd that the game was to be abandoned and said, “With the serious injury that we had and the fact that we had stopped playing for a long time and, really, in respect to Paul and his family, the scrimmage is done. We want to thank you for your support.”
Paul George has since been in surgery to repair the injury to his tibia and fibula bone fractures. It has also been announced that the Pacers star will spend three days in hospital to help with his recovery. Pacers president Larry Bird refused to comment on how long the team believe he will be out for, but it is clear that Paul George will be out for at least several months, and many believe that he will miss the entire 2014-15 NBA season.
Bird did say in a statement on the Indiana Pacers website, “At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with Paul.”
These events bring around the question, who will step up for the Pacers this coming season. Pacers coach Frank Vogel is yet to comment officially on the situation, but is expected to in the coming days. Coach Vogel’s job this NBA season has just become twice as hard with the loss of star Paul George. But in the NBA you’re always looking for the answer to the problem with your roster and with Paul George seemingly out for the year the pacers will look for other players on the roster to step up.
The pressure on players such as Centre Roy Hibbert and Power Forward David West is huge, because the loss of Paul George means as the veterans on the team they must step up their performances for the team to be successful. The Indiana Pacers are a powerful force in the Eastern conference, but with this huge loss, they face a battle this year to contend. Luckily for Pacers fans the Eastern conference, which in many opinions is the weaker of the two conference’s, so maybe even with the loss of Paul George there is still hope of a season that will bring playoff basketball to Indiana.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our wrestling writing team. Visit our “Write for Us” page for very easy details in how you can get started today!
For the latest in sports injury news, see our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
