The injury to Paul George during the USA scrimmage a couple weeks ago was one of the scariest, gruesomest, most tragic injuries for more than one reason. The injury itself was hard to watch, as everyone knew immediately that this injury was severe, and that George would be out for a long time. When it first happened, many may have even questioned if it was a career-threatening injury. Paul George will miss the entire upcoming season, but luckily is expected to fully recover for the 2015-16 season. Many stars have played, and are playing for Team USA, including the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, and Kobe Bryant. All of those players, including George, are being rewarded with big contracts by their respective NBA team, and play a big role in the success of their team. Due to this fact, many have questioned players being allowed to participate on Team USA in the Olympics, or in the FIBA World Cup. This is completely separate from their commitment with their contract, and supposed to be their off-season to rest up, and/or get ready for the upcoming season. The risk of injury is what causes people to question whether or not NBA players should be allowed to participate. In this case, the Pacers will be dramatically affected without their star, due to an incident that had nothing to do with the Pacers’ organization. Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant felt the same way, as he pulled out of Team USA due to mental/physical exhaustion. Many are pointing to the George injury as the cause of this “exhaustion” for Durant, with the fear of getting hurt just like Pacers’ star did. The base of the net is a couple feet closer to the baseline during the World Cup than it is in the NBA. These NBA stars have a routine for everything, including where to land, or how much room they have to land, when they go for a block, dunk, or layup. Now that is altered by the base of the net being closer, and can cause an incident like it did with George. NBA players also have routines with their off-seasons, and how they prepare for the upcoming season. There is no doubt that it’s affected by participating in the World Cup or Olympics, and it could affect their condition for the beginning of the season. There is absolutely nothing wrong with representing your country, but I do believe NBA players really need to consider everything before deciding to participate. And with everything that happened to George, ending his season before it even began, and with everything that Durant has going for him, I feel he made the best possible decision.
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