It was a terrible way to start off the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but it might end up being an even worse way for the Indiana Pacers to start their 2014-15 NBA season.

In a scrimmage game between the United States players Friday, Paul George suffered a gruesome leg injury.

The Pacers' shooting guard was chasing down James Harden on the defensive side, when he jumped past the rim and collided with the banister that holds the hoop. After his leg collided with it, George's body turned in the opposite direction, thus breaking his leg.


This never happens in the National Basketball Association because the holder for the hoop is much further back, which results in no player collision. The injury was so gruesome that the scrimmage was called off by head coach Mike Krzyzewski. The players looked at the jumbotron at the replay in disbelief and disappointment as their fellow teammate left the game.

Because of the injury, there's a chance that George could miss the entire 2014-15 NBA season.

It's too early to make that determination just yet, but things don't look very good. If George is to miss a majority of next season, the Cleveland Cavaliers--who have LeBron James back in the fold along with Kyrie Irving and No.1 NBA Draft pick Andrew Wiggins--may automatically win the Eastern Conference, with or without Kevin Love, who has been rumored to be pushing for a trade to Cleveland. The Eastern Conference is already a weak conference, and the Pacers don't have a great offense. In hindsight, maybe getting rid of Lance Stephenson was a bad idea.

Many of the best NBA players do not even participate in FIBA, for this very reason. Love recently said he would not be playing, and the San Antonio Spurs told Manu Ginóbili he wasn't allowed to play for Argentina this year. These NBA teams are paying their players a lot money, and health is essential. FIBA doesn't have the same regulations and restrictions as the NBA, therefore the risk just isn't worth the reward. Could fans imagine if George was to miss the entire season because of a FIBA scrimmage game?

Former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann had his career ended when Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor broke his leg. Let's just hope that isn't the result with George.

This injury comes at a terrible time for the Pacers team because the draft has already come and gone and the best free agent players are all off the board. There's not much the Pacers can really do in the front office; it's going to be up to the current squad to step things up.

This opens up the door for the Miami Heat to possibly capture the No. 2 seed even without James, assuming the Cavaliers are No. 1. We will certainly see how good head coach Frank Vogel really is when the regular season begins this October.

Moving forward, this may bring upon many changes. There's no doubt that the hoop holder will be placed further back to avoid such an incident. We may even see more high profile players deciding not to play in this tournament. It's not the Olympics. NBA owners, coaches and general managers will voice their displeasure.

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