Paul George has cruelly roasted after his self-given nickname of “Playoff P” failed to come alive after an inspiring string of games leading to the postseason, but as it turns out, it was all part of a nasty injury.
The savvy wing player had suffered from elbow bursitis, which resulted in plenty of discomfort when shooting the ball.
“I had a huge sac, 18 to 20 ounces of blood just sitting in the sac of my elbow, so I had that aspirated,” George said, according to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. “I was dealing with that for pretty much the whole season. That was causing a lot of frustration with shooting, and playing. To be able to shoot again, to be able to feel confident in my shot, to not have that on my mind, playing on the court … I’m great going forward.”
PG13 was en route to be one of the league leaders in 3-point shooting before hitting a roadblock late in the season, which caused concern among Oklahoma City Thunder faithful.
George had shot under 50 percent from the field for 23 straight games before catching fire in the regular season finale, erupting for 40 points and following it with a rousing 36-point outing in Game 1 of the first-round series against the Utah Jazz.
The Palmdale native's struggles continued, failing to shoot over 50 percent in the following games, firing at a mere 40 percent throughout his short playoff stint with the Thunder.
Yet the elbow wasn't the only concern, as he underwent a left knee arthroscopic procedure on May 9.
“The knee is doing good,” said George “It still has a long way to go… It looks like I’m doing well, but I’m still working through some stuff, and still working on trusting and putting full confidence in my leg. I’m a little ways away, but there’s no pain, there’s no swelling, there’s nothing I’m concerned about. I’m just not at the level I need to be. There’s no limitations. All it is is taking steps, all it is is progression. I’m just trying to get ready and prepare for training camp down the line.”
George took part in USA Basketball's minicamp last week and while most players just focused on drills and game plan rather than full-fledged scrimmages, the Thunder forward looked sharp and back to his best gear in Las Vegas.
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