Paul George Suffers Devastating Injury During Team USA Scrimmage
On Friday night during a Team USA intrasquad showcase at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Indiana Pacers star Paul George suffered an absolutely devastating injury to his lower right leg. One of those rare injuries gruesome enough to stun the viewing audience and stay with them forever.
It happened just 27 seconds into the fourth quarter, with George in pursuit of James Harden who approached the basket. After fouling Harden, George’s right leg buckled and appeared to visibly break right above his ankle.
He immediately doubled over in pain and his teammates were stunned, most reacting instinctually by covered their eyes in horror.
George was quickly surrounded by medical personnel, who secured his leg in an air cast and placed him on a stretcher. Players and fans were silent as George was tended to, but there was thunderous applause as he was wheeled out, his family at his side.
No official announcement about his injury has been made yet, but there’s no question that both Team USA and the Pacers suffered a major blow. Even with the best case scenario, George is looking at a very long recovery and rehab.
After George was taken away by an ambulance, coach Mike Krzyzewski announced that the rest of the game, which was nothing more than a useless scrimmage which players will be trimmed before the FIBA Basketball World Cup begins on August 30, would not be played out of respect.
Having professional players compete in an offseason scrimmage like this is ridiculous. But hey, at least it made one cut easy for Coach K. Hope it was worth it.
