Paul George Mentors Julius Randle on Broken Leg Rehab

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Paul George is one of the few people who can understand what Julius Randle is going through right now. In August, the Indiana Pacers star shattered both his lower-leg bones in a freak accident. It happened on live television during a Team USA scrimmage in Las Vegas.

Randle suffered a similar fate at the start of his rookie campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers. His broken leg was different, but it too was an unusual way to snap a bone and the fact that it happened in his NBA debut is a cruel fate that nobody would wish even their sworn foe.

As young as he is, the mental anguish and uncertainty clouding his brain since his injury may be more painful than anything physical. So it was fitting to see Julius Randle hunt down Paul George last night after the game to talk about the rehabilitation process, as Dave Shore of ESPN Los Angeles radio captured in a photo.

It isn’t that Paul George is some graybeard, seen-it-all character in the NBA. He is only 24 years old himself. But that probably seems old to the 20-year-old Randle, who sees George’s status in this league as a career goal. And few people can understand the process of returning from such a high-profile broken leg.

Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star added some details of their conversation, which she says began after Randle had a Lakers security team member track down Paul George.

Paul George still hopes to return this season, but that seems overly optimistic. Whenever he has talked about his star’s potential to play in 2014-15, Pacers head coach Frank Vogel has sounded like the team will take a conservative stance.

Still, a return is not out of the question if the team sneaks into the playoffs. And that might not be the worst thing, presuming doctors are sure George can’t do any damage by taking the court.

One of the biggest hurdles for athletes to returning to pre-injury form is the mental aspect. A big step is simply getting used to the speed of the game again and teaching your brain that your body is strong enough to do the things it used to accomplish with ease.

So, presuming the Pacers aren’t going to make the NBA Finals whether he plays or not, getting a few playoff games under his belt may be the best thing for the full return of Paul George. If he can have positive thoughts and a playoff-game-speed muscle memory reestablished before the summer starts, he can more fully get back to being the player he was before he broke his leg.

And since he is much further along in his recovery already, it is nice to see Paul George sharing some related thoughts with Julius Randle on getting back to being a ballplayer.