Jorge Garbajosa's Ankle Isn't Supposed to Bend Like That

While not quite as gruesome as Shaun Livingston's knee injury (which, in an eerie coincidence, happened exactly one month ago to the day), Jorge Garbajosa's ankle injury on Monday night certainly ranks up there. You may not think it's that bad at first, but that's probably because you're not getting the right angle on it -- fortunately, the first slow motion replay shows it pretty good (or bad, depending on your point of view).

I'm guessing it was even more disgusting up close -- watch teammate Jose Calderon's reaction as soon as he sees it. He does a double-take and then immediately motions to the bench. Al Jefferson's reaction once he finally notices is even more telling -- he immediately cringes and looks away. After the game, Jefferson had this to say:

"I really thought he broke his leg," Jefferson said. "We bumped, my leg hit his leg, and I looked down and he was all twisted up. He was screaming, and I could feel his pain."

Not surprisingly, someone quickly put a towel over Garbajosa's ankle as he was being tended to on the floor and then as he was carted off the court -- you don't want to subject fans sitting up close to something like that. The announcer guessed that he dislocated his ankle, which, considering the fact that bones were definitely not where they were supposed to be, I'd say sounds about right. Needless to say, whatever the official diagnosis is, it's safe to rule out him playing again this season and probably even the playoffs.

The timing of the injury couldn't be any worse for the Raptors -- they've already lost Andrea Bargnani following an appendectomy for at least the next couple of weeks and had been relying on Garbajosa to provide extra big man minutes. Now, as the team heads into the stretch run before the playoffs, the bench will be tested more than ever. Morris Peterson seems like a fit for the starting lineup, but you never know given his inconsistent playing time of late. But no matter what, it'll be near impossible to replace the presence that Garbajosa, a smart player who does a little of everything, brought to the court.