First, the Indiana Pacers watched their NBA All-Star and bonafide superstar Paul George suffer a gruesome injury during preperations for the 2014 FIBA World Cup that will keep him out for the entire 2014-2015 season.
Now, Indy's backup center Ian Mahinmi will be out for 2-3 months after suffering a dislocated shoulder.
Mahinmi, a native of France, was practicing with the French national team that will be competing in the 2014 FIBA World Cup tournament, that begins today (August 30), when he began to feel a sharp pain in his left shoulder. He later underwent MRI tests that revealed the injury was severe enough to keep him out of the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
France's team doctor says Mahinmi will be out for 2-3 months, which will cause him to miss Indiana's training camp and exhibition games.
"I will be back in Indy sometime this week for further exam on my shoulder," Mahinmi wrote to VigilantSports.com.
Mahinmi, a 6-foot-11, 250 pound center, averaged 3.5 points and 3.2 rebounds with the Pacers last season. Despite playing in 77 of 82 regular season games, he fell out of favor with head coach Frank Vogel, who elected to use smaller lineups that did not include Mahinmi.
This is a tough loss for France, who was already without NBA All-Stars Tony Parker and Joakim Noah. Mahinmi would have been one of five NBA players competing in the tournament for France.
Mahinmi has been replaced by former college basketball player for the University of Utah, Kim Tillie, who averaged 12.6 points and 5.3 rebounds with Spainish team, UC Murica, last season. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert will likely replace Mahinmi as France's starting center.
France's first game in the tournament is August 30 versus Brazil at 2 pm Eastern Time.