Over the weekend, the NBA and Indiana Pacers suffered a huge loss in Paul George breaking his leg at the exhibition USA game. The 24-year-old challenged the Houston Rockets’ James Harden’s breakaway layup attempt and George’s right leg horrifically collapsed underneath him. Ad the initial shock of the injury gave and the George had a devastating prognosis – an open tibia-fibula fracture that could sideline him for the 2014-2015 season.
Looking through a long term lens, it sounds as if George may have avoided any real damages.
“If it had to break, it broke the right way,” said Paul George Sr., the Pacers’ star player’s dad. “It broke evenly, so they’re saying he should be back 100 percent.”
Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird expressed his concern about George and his family.
“Our first thoughts are with Paul and his family. It is way too early to speculate on his return as the No. 1 priority for everyone will his recovery. Our initial discussions with our doctors and the doctors in Las Vegas have us very optimistic. We are hopeful at some point next week Paul will return to Indianapolis to continue is recovery,” Bird said.
“There is no question about the impact on our team but our goal is to be as strong willed and determined as Paul will be in coming back. Our franchise has had setbacks in its history but has demonstrated the abilities to recover. Paul will provide the example of that off the court and it is up to the rest of us to provide that example on the court. Any discussion regarding the future of our team would be inappropriate at this time. Our focus is solely on Paul and doing whatever we can to help.”
A visibly shaken USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski and director Jerry Colangelo took questions from the media while players understandably skipped media availability. Both men deflected any questions about USA Basketball’s future, remaining firm that it wasn’t yet the time to worry about the roster while the trauma of George’s injury was still fresh.
“Everything is on hold right now and it should be. It would be so inappropriate for us to talk about anything else when there is a serious injury like this. There is a brotherhood in the NBA and to me, and in moments like this, family or brotherhood shows its heart, shows its depth,” coach Krzyzewski said.
