Indiana Pacers All-Star Paul George is taken off the court on a stretcher after breaking his lower right leg in an intrasquad scrimmage in Las Vegas. (GETTY IMAGES)

It was the perfect storm. An NBA All-Star suffers a major injury on national TV while playing a meaningless intrasquad scrimmage on a court many suspect does not meet NBA standards.

Everyone at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Arena cringed when Indiana Pacers star Paul George broke his lower right leg while trying to block a layup. It was later diagnosed as a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula, which likely knocks George out for at least 12 months or longer.

You could see the pain in the faces of players when they saw their teammate crumble to the floor and unable to get up. Some couldn’t even look. Their worst fears were realized, and all of a sudden playing for the red, white and blue wasn’t such a good idea anymore.

This unfortunate injury is a major setback for USA Basketball, the NBA, FIBA and the Pacers. Fortunately, the right person is at the helm to do damage control.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski smartly called off the game, knowing that the rest of the team was in no mood to finish the exhibition game. He joined USA Basketball president Jerry Colangelo at the post-game press conference where he immediately put a hold on any roster moves and channeled all the focus on the health of George.

If there is one man who can restore order amid the chaos and the depression that has fallen over Team USA, it’s Krzyzewski.

He made the right call in not continuing the game and he avoided digging the program into a deeper hole by suspending training camp and allowing the players to be with their support system outside of basketball.

When Coach K was hired to lead Team USA in 2005, he inherited a program that needed a major overhaul. The senior men’s national team was coming off a disappointing bronze-medal finish in the Athens Olympics. Since Coach K took over the program, Team USA is 62-1 in international competition. The U.S. won two Olympic gold medals and finished first in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey. The only blemish on Coach K’s USA Basketball resume was a loss to Greece in 2006.

Krzyzewski was saddled with the huge task of restoring Team USA’s dominance in Olympic competition, and he accomplished that by leading a squad anchored by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant to gold in Beijing in 2008. That team was known as the Redeem Team.

Now, Coach K will be asked again to redeem Team USA.

This challenge will be a bit different. It won’t be about winning gold medals or blowing out teams by 30 points. The challenge will be more about fixing the team’s psyche and reassuring the NBA community that George’s injury was a freak accident and players shouldn’t pass up an opportunity to represent your country against the rest of the world.

No one knows the pulse of the USA Basketball program better than Coach K. He will carefully assess the situation and figure out the next more with the blessing of Colangelo.

“We need to take care of right now appropriately and then move on,” Krzyzewski said.

The remaining 19 players in camp, the majority of them under 30 years old, will look to Coach K for strength and guidance. And you can bet that Coach K will find the right things to say. He always does.

Krzyzewski will likely use George’s injury as a rallying point. Once the shock of the grisly injury wears off and Team USA returns to training for the FIBA World Cup, Coach K will find a way to bring this unit together. All the players are reportedly going to honor their commitment to USA Basketball, which is a good sign. That’s the first sign of healing.

George’s injury could have occurred anywhere. He could have done it while working out on his own or while playing in the L.A. Drew League. The reason why there was so much overreaction was because it happened on live TV.

The players on this team have a ton of character and resolve. They knew what they were signed for when they accepted the invitation to wear the American colors.

In the short term, there will be some hesitation. In the long term, Team USA should rebound and bring home the gold medal for Paul George.

Joel Huerto is editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Mike Krzyzewski coached his final game for USA Basketball in the gold-medal game against Spain. (GETTY IMAGES)

Mike Krzyzewski got a well-deserved victory shower after the United States held off Spain 107-100 in the men’s basketball gold-medal game.

Instead of a Gatorade bath, Krzyzewski got doused with water courtesy of LeBron James. Krzyzewski announced that the 2012 London Olympics would be his last game coaching USA Basketball. He’ll only remain as adviser in the program, but his head coaching days for Team USA are over.

When asked if he was sure he was done, Krzyzewski said “yes” this was his last game as USA coach.

Krzyzewski, who has led Duke to four NCAA championships, took over the U.S. team in 2005. In the past seven years, he has restored the powerful American program, which was in disarray following a third-place finish at the 2004 Athens Games. However, led by Krzyzewski, the U.S. got redemption and a gold medal four years ago in China, won the world championships in 2010 and can win gold again by beating Spain.

Although he won’t take credit, Krzyzewski’s impact on the U.S. program has been immense.

“It goes beyond what has happened on the floor,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo told The Associated Press.

“He’s been so important to me in everything we’ve done in building the infrastructure and philosophy and standards — all of it,” Colangelo said. “His legacy goes beyond the record on the court.”

USA Basketball is 62-1 (including exhibition games) under Krzyzewski and his staff that includes Jim Boeheim, Mike D’Antoni and Nate McMillan.

But beyond the wins and statistical records, the biggest thing Coach K brought to the USA program is stability and consistency. He jokes about his lone blemish — a loss to Greece in the 2006 World Championships — and instead of sinking his head in a tub and hiding from the criticism, Coach K admitted mistakes made against Greece and has used that game as motivation in Beijing (Olympics), Turkey (FIBA Worlds), and London (Olympics.)

He ran the same offense and defense concepts since taking over in 2005, and he was able to check all the egos at the door and found a way to keep everyone on the same page without ruining reputations. That alone is an incredible accomplishment considering Krzyzewski has zero NBA experience and he’s dealing with grown men instead of college kids, and multimillionaires instead of students on athletic scholarships.

“Coach K is more about relationships than X’s and O’s,” said Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins, whose son, Chris, is one of the assistant coaches at Duke.

The 2012 U.S. Olympic team has two core groups: Five players from the Beijing Olympics (LeBron, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Deron Williams, Chris Paul) and five players from the world championships in Turkey (Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love, Andre Iguodala). The last two roster spots went newcomers James Harden and Anthony Davis.

Coach K was able to take the Turkey team and incorporate it with the Beijing team and mold it into one super group. He pulled it off because the players trusted him and they formed a close relationship with him.

Krzyzewski and Henry Iba (1964, 1968) are the only U.S. coaches to lead the Americans to gold medals in consecutive Olympics. In seven years as head coach of the USA Basketball program, Coach K has returned USA back to where it belongs — No. 1 in the basketball world.

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James aim for gold in the Summer Olympics in London. (GETTY IMAGES)

No Derrick Rose. No Dwight Howard. No Dwyane Wade. No Chris Bosh.

Is USA Basketball in trouble? Hardly.

The talent pool is still very deep and whomever the U.S. sends to London they will be heavily favored to win an Olympic gold medal. The team convenes in Las Vegas on July 5 to start training camp, then has five exhibitions with international teams before opening Olympic play against France on July 29. Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski won’t be doing any intense MMA exercise programs in Las Vegas to keep the squad fresh and injury-free after a grueling NBA schedule.

“I feel very confident about our roster going forward. … Adversity gives people opportunity and guess what? It’s going to open up a couple of roster positions,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said.

USA Basketball plans to announce the 12-man Olympic roster on July 7. NBA TV will air the announcement live.

The 16 finalists contending for 12 roster spots include: Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks); Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers); Tyson Chandler (New York Knicks); Anthony Davis (New Orleans Hornets); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Eric Gordon (New Orleans Hornets); Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers); James Harden (Oklahoma City Thunder); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); LeBron James (Miami Heat); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves); Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Clippers); Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers); Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder); and Deron Williams (Brooklyn Nets).

Anthony, Bryant, James, Paul, and Williams are holdovers from the 2008 Beijing Games so they should be locks to make the squad. Durant, Westbrook, and Love were key members of the 2010 U.S. squad that won gold at the world championships so there is a very good chance they’ll be on their way to London. And with Bosh and Howard out, Chandler is the only true center on the team.

Former Kentucky star Anthony Davis, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2012 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets, was among the finalists until Saturday when he severely sprained his ankle during a workout with his new team. The Hornets almost assuredly will advise the 6-foot-10 Davis to not participate in the selection process, knocking another big man out of the mix.

That leaves Gordon, Gay, Iguodala, Harden, Odom, and Griffin to battle for the last three spots.

Iguodala, Gay, Odom, and Gordon were on the 2010 U.S. squad that captured the gold medal at the World Championships in Turkey. Gay can play either forward position, which will come in handy because of the lack of big men on the roster. Iguodala is a defensive specialist who doesn’t need to dominate the ball to be effective. It will be very difficult for the coaching staff to leave him out.

Gordon impressed the coaching staff with his physical toughness and ability to consistently knock down 3-point shots. Gordon is built like a running back and can handle the physicality of international play. But Gordon doesn’t defend as well as Iguodala, and because the roster is already loaded with scorers, a specialist or glue guy who can guard multiple positions could be more important than adding a player who can only play shooting guard.

Griffin is new to the international scene, but he is a huge fan favorite. If this was an all-star competition, Griffin would be a lock. His lack of experience (and lack of a jump shot) is a big red flag, but there is going to be a tidal wave of pressure from fans and team officials to put Griffin on the squad strictly from a public relations standpoint.

The same can’t be said about Harden. The Oklahoma City guard is also new to the process, and could be an important player in the future. But he may have to wait his turn.

Odom has plenty of international experience and a reality show to boot. But he recently took his name out of contention for obvious reasons: he’s not ready to play.

Here’s how the 12-man roster should look like when Team USA convenes in London:

Guards: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon

Forwards: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin, Rudy Gay, Kevin Love

Center: Tyson Chandler

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Dwyane Wade has informed USA Basketball that he will not participate in the Summer Games in London. (GETTY IMAGES)

The once robust Team USA roster got thinner this week as Miami Heat teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh both announced they’ll miss the Summer Olympics in London due to injuries.

Wade withdrew his name from the player pool for the U.S. Olympic basketball team on Thursday because his injured left knee will require surgery.

“As many people may know, throughout the season, I struggled with a recurring knee issue,” Wade said in a statement. “After the championship game, I visited with my doctors for a round of comprehensive medical tests, and the recent results dictate the need for surgery.

“While every part of me wants to be in London, I need to take this time to do what’s best to improve my health and allow me to continue to play the game I love.”

Bosh informed USA Basketball president Jerry Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski Friday that he won’t play in London because he is still recovering from the strained abdominal muscle that sidelined him for a portion of Miami’s run to the NBA championship.

Chris Bosh won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

“I am extremely disappointed to say that due to injury, I cannot represent my country in the 2012 Olympics in London,” Bosh said. “The abdominal injury that I suffered in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals is not fully healed. After the Finals, I met with my doctors to determine the best course of action, with the full intent to play in the Olympics. From those meetings, I was advised that rest and additional rehab of my abdominal injury will be necessary in order to avoid the development of a chronic injury.

“Having enjoyed the honor of representing my country in the 2008 Olympics, when we won the gold medal, I wanted to be part of that experience again.  However, I must follow my doctors’ advice and properly take care of this injury. My thoughts will be with our guys in London in August and I am confident that Coach K and the USA Basketball staff will bring home the gold again to the USA.”

Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant led Team USA to a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. (GETTY IMAGES)

USA Basketball recently announced the 20 finalists who will compete for the 12 spots on the senior men’s national team that will represent the U.S. in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Among the finalists are holdovers from the 2008 gold-medal winning team in Beijing: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Carmelo Anthony. Assuming all eight accept invitations to London, there are 12 players fighting for four spots which leaves USA Basketball president Jerry Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski the dirty task of having to cut star players without embarrassing them in public.

RELATED: USA Basketball selects the 20 finalists for the 2012 London Olympics (July-August)

Injuries will certainly play a big part of the selection process, especially with Bryant (wrist) and Wade (foot). Both have hinted they would love to play in London, but it’ll depend on how their teams finish and if their injuries will get worse should they play through the summer. Not having Kobe or Wade in the Olympics will be a huge blow to Coach K but those two were the go-to guys in Beijing. When Team USA needed a basket in the fourth quarter, Coach K called on Kobe’s number first and then Wade was a very close second. That was evident in the gold-medal game against Spain when Wade was the catalyst in the first half and Kobe closed the deal.

With or without Bryant and Wade Team USA should field a dynamite team in London and be heavy favorites to win gold again. But just like the 2008 team Colangelo and Krzyzewski can’t pick a team based on star power or All-Star game appearances. Talent alone won’t get it done in London, just ask the 2006 U.S. squad that lost to Greece in the FIBA World Championships. The 2012 Olympic squad needs to be balanced and flexible enough to adapt to any situation. The guards must be physical enough to play through a lot of contact because the international referees oftentimes will allow physical play, the forwards have to knock down 3-pointers, and the big men must be quick enough to defend the perimeter.

Here are the 12 players who should make the 2012 U.S. Olympic team:

CENTER: Dwight Howard

Comment: Because the majority of the big men in the Olympics are perimeter oriented, you really don’t need more than one true center. Dwight Howard wasn’t a huge factor four years ago in Beijing and, at times, struggled to guard the 3-point shooters. Hopefully four years of experience will help Dwight adapt to the international game.

FORWARDS: LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Andre Iguodala

Comment: Two years ago in Turkey, Kevin Durant showed the world what he can do in the FIBA World Championships. Now, it’s time for USA Basketball to recognize Durant as the centerpiece of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team. Durant has the perfect game to play against international competition. We know about his consistent outside shot (something LeBron and ‘Melo struggle with at times), but what the 6-foot-10 Durant presents is a mismatch at the forward position. He’s too big for small forwards and too quick for power forwards. Iguodala played well in the 2010 world championships, especially on defense. Iguodala can match up against guards or forwards, and his length and athleticism really bothered the great scorers from Europe. Love and Aldridge are better fits because they can knock down shots, which is extremely important in opening up the court for dribble penetration. Love and Aldridge can also play some center if needed, and in some instances Love or Aldridge are probably better options at center than Howard. This means the committee will have the tough choice to exclude Chris Bosh and Blake Griffin from the team. There will be a ton of pressure to add Griffin on the squad because of the excitement and hype he’ll bring to London, but it’ll depend on how many guards Coach K will carry on the roster.

GUARDS: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Deron Williams

Comment: It will be hard to knock off any of these guards off the team, but if Kobe or Wade decide to pass on the Olympics, then Eric Gordon should be the next man up. Gordon played well in Turkey in 2010 and he has the game and built to play against the rugged competition. One key factor to watch is how Paul and Rose will keep defenses from zoning on them. Teams will gladly give up 3-point shots to CP3 and D-Rose to take away their dribble penetration. Rose was up-and-down at the 2010 worlds because he wasn’t too confident with his jump shot, something he has aggressively worked on the past four years. Coack K also has the option of playing Williams at shooting guard with Paul or Rose at the point, and won’t rule out moving Iguodala at guard to make room for another forward if Bryant and Wade are not available.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Rajon Rondo won't play for Team USA at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey. (GETTY IMAGES)

In somewhat of a surprising move, Rajon Rondo has decided to withdraw from the United States basketball team. Rondo told USA Basketball President Jerry Colangelo that he had some personal matters.

Translation: Rondo saved himself the embarrassment of being cut from the squad.

The Boston Celtics All-Star point guard saw the writing on the wall and knew he was one of the players on the chopping block before the Team USA announced its final 12-man roster prior to the start of the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey on Aug. 28. Rondo struggled in a win against Lithuania over the weekend and didn’t play against Spain on Sunday.

He pulled out of the squad following the Americans’ arrival in Athens, where the U.S. took on Greece in an exhibition game on Wednesday. Team USA rolled to an 87-59 victory over Greece, a team the Americans could potentially meet in the knockout round.

“Rajon came to us and said he was going to withdraw from the team, that he had some family matters to attend to and some things to take care of before the NBA season,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo told the Associated Press. “He did an outstanding job during our training, we appreciate the effort and commitment he made to our program and he completely has our support.”

Before making his decision, Rondo admitted he may not make the squad. He told ESPN.com “I think I’m on the bubble. Just looking at the obvious — I got a DNP (did not play) last game. That pretty much speaks for itself.”

Rondo’s exit means Team USA has its final 12-man squad, with Derrick Rose and Chauncey Billups now expected to get the majority of minutes in the backcourt with Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon coming off the bench. The rest of the team includes Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, Lamar Odom, Danny Granger, Kevin Love, Tyson Chandler and Andre Iguodala.

With Rondo out of the picture, the door opens for Westbrook and Gordon to have bigger roles for the U.S. Both men have played their way onto the team and their hard work is now being rewarded. Westbrook, Durant’s teammate with the Oklahoma City Thunder, is a great on-ball stopper, and his defense will be needed against Europe’s best guards. Gordon has been a pleasant surprise throughout training camp and the exhibition tour, showing the coaching staff that he can knock down open shots and able to play through contact off dribble penetration.

Curry is the hybrid guard on the team, able to play point or shooting guard. His outside shooting will come in handy against zone defenses.

Billups has started every game for the U.S., and seems to mesh well with Derrick Rose. Billups can slide over to the shooting guard spot when Rose has the point, giving Team USA two PGs in the starting backcourt. Rose played extremely well in the win over Greece, scoring 13 points and making six of seven shots. He was named the player of the game.

Though having Rondo’s championship experience would have been a luxury for Coach Mike Krzyzewski and Co., his departure shouldn’t affect the squad too much. It’s addition by subtraction.