Although Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t make it past the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, it looks like the team’s star players ended the season pretty banged up. According to ESPN, both of OKC’s All-Stars, Paul George and Russell Westbrook, have undergone surgeries in recent days.

 George had a procedure on his right shoulder in order to repair a partially torn tendon, while also being scheduled for a smaller-scale procedure on his left shoulder. The 29-year-old will reportedly miss out the Thunder’s preseason training camp while recovering but might be ready for the start of the season.

Westbrook, on the other hand, also had surgery on his left hand to repair a torn ligament in one of the fingers while also undergoing a minor procedure on his right knee. He is, however, expected to return in time for the training camp.

Paul George had an MVP-worthy campaign in the first half of the season but started to struggle after injuring his shoulder in a game against Denver Nuggets on February 21st. After missing three games, George returned to the court but then injured his left shoulder. The injuries caused his production to slip down which greatly affected the Thunder’s overall performance and caused them to slip from the third seed to sixth seed in the West.

George ended the regular season averaging 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, reportedly played with injury on his non-shooting hand for final six weeks of the regular season and through the first round. Westbrook ended up averaging a triple-double for a third consecutive NBA season with 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game.

The post OKC’s All-Stars Paul George and Russell Westbrook Undergo Surgeries appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After starting the season with 0-4 record, Oklahoma City Thunder finally managed to find their rhythm and notch five straight wins after that. Unfortunately, they might lose it again, since their All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook suffered an ankle sprain in the third quarter of OKC’s 122-116 win over New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night and had to leave the game early.

Westbrook was trying to get an offensive rebound next to Pelicans’ forward Anthony Davis and ended up landing on Davis’ foot and rolling his ankle.

Thunder said that they still don’t know how severe Westbrook’s injury is, but the team did reveal that X-rays on the 29-year-old’s left ankle came back negative.

“Russ has a pretty high pain tolerance, so I knew it was something that was serious,” – said his teammate Paul George after the game. “I was just hoping it wasn’t his knee. I thought I saw him holding his knee. I think we can all say it’s unfortunate, we can all say as bad as it was, we’re happy it wasn’t the knee and that it was just an ankle sprain.“

If Russell Westbrook’s injury turns out to be grade 1 sprain, he is likely to be out for a few weeks until he fully recovers. If it’s grade 2 sprain, then he is looking towards a month of downtime. Westbrook already missed the first two games of the season, after having knee surgery in the offseason.

Westbrook is averaging 25.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game so far in the season.

The post OKC’s All-Star Russell Westbrook Suffers an Ankle Sprain Injury appeared first on SportzBonanza.

In one of the most surprising moves this NBA offseason, Paul George decided to turn down the opportunity to play in his hometown of Los Angeles. Instead, the 28-year-old All-Star agreed to prolong his stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder, signing a four-year deal with the team.

Now, while attending USA Basketball’s minicamp, PG13 decided to explain his decision to stay with the OKC. George said that although he wanted to get back home, he loved the situation in Oklahoma and decided to “around a little longer.”

“It was absolutely tempting,” – said George about the opportunity to join LA Lakers. “Honestly, I wanted to come back home. But again, I got traded to Oklahoma. Loved the situation. Loved where I was at. I decided to stick around a little longer.“

“I just wanted my free agency to be over with. In my heart, I felt great about Oklahoma and I wasn’t going to prolong it if I felt good about it already.” – he added.

Before entering the final year of his contract with the Indiana Pacers, Paul George decided to tell the organization that he doesn’t intend to sign the extension and would prefer to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Still, Lakers opted against trading for George, thinking they will get him for free in the summer of 2018. Knowing this, Thunder decided to make a gamble and trade for him regardless. The risk ended up paying off, and George remained in Oklahoma without even giving Lakers a meeting with him.

Although Paul George put up significant numbers in the past season – 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game – Oklahoma City Thunder underachieved and ended up being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. George is well aware of this and intends to make a better impression in the next season.

“I felt when it came down to it and all the factors that played into it, deep down there was a nasty taste where we finished,” – he said. “I just felt I had more to offer. I had more to give. I just felt about where we were as a whole.”

The post Paul George Explains His Decision to Stay in OKC appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Although Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t make it past the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, it looks like the team’s star players ended the season pretty banged up. According to ESPN, both of OKC’s All-Stars, Paul George and Russell Westbrook, have undergone surgeries in recent days.

 George had a procedure on his right shoulder in order to repair a partially torn tendon, while also being scheduled for a smaller-scale procedure on his left shoulder. The 29-year-old will reportedly miss out the Thunder’s preseason training camp while recovering but might be ready for the start of the season.

Westbrook, on the other hand, also had surgery on his left hand to repair a torn ligament in one of the fingers while also undergoing a minor procedure on his right knee. He is, however, expected to return in time for the training camp.

Paul George had an MVP-worthy campaign in the first half of the season but started to struggle after injuring his shoulder in a game against Denver Nuggets on February 21st. After missing three games, George returned to the court but then injured his left shoulder. The injuries caused his production to slip down which greatly affected the Thunder’s overall performance and caused them to slip from the third seed to sixth seed in the West.

George ended the regular season averaging 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, reportedly played with injury on his non-shooting hand for final six weeks of the regular season and through the first round. Westbrook ended up averaging a triple-double for a third consecutive NBA season with 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game.

The post OKC’s All-Stars Paul George and Russell Westbrook Undergo Surgeries appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After starting the season with 0-4 record, Oklahoma City Thunder finally managed to find their rhythm and notch five straight wins after that. Unfortunately, they might lose it again, since their All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook suffered an ankle sprain in the third quarter of OKC’s 122-116 win over New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night and had to leave the game early.

Westbrook was trying to get an offensive rebound next to Pelicans’ forward Anthony Davis and ended up landing on Davis’ foot and rolling his ankle.

Thunder said that they still don’t know how severe Westbrook’s injury is, but the team did reveal that X-rays on the 29-year-old’s left ankle came back negative.

“Russ has a pretty high pain tolerance, so I knew it was something that was serious,” – said his teammate Paul George after the game. “I was just hoping it wasn’t his knee. I thought I saw him holding his knee. I think we can all say it’s unfortunate, we can all say as bad as it was, we’re happy it wasn’t the knee and that it was just an ankle sprain.“

If Russell Westbrook’s injury turns out to be grade 1 sprain, he is likely to be out for a few weeks until he fully recovers. If it’s grade 2 sprain, then he is looking towards a month of downtime. Westbrook already missed the first two games of the season, after having knee surgery in the offseason.

Westbrook is averaging 25.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game so far in the season.

The post OKC’s All-Star Russell Westbrook Suffers an Ankle Sprain Injury appeared first on SportzBonanza.

In one of the most surprising moves this NBA offseason, Paul George decided to turn down the opportunity to play in his hometown of Los Angeles. Instead, the 28-year-old All-Star agreed to prolong his stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder, signing a four-year deal with the team.

Now, while attending USA Basketball’s minicamp, PG13 decided to explain his decision to stay with the OKC. George said that although he wanted to get back home, he loved the situation in Oklahoma and decided to “around a little longer.”

“It was absolutely tempting,” – said George about the opportunity to join LA Lakers. “Honestly, I wanted to come back home. But again, I got traded to Oklahoma. Loved the situation. Loved where I was at. I decided to stick around a little longer.“

“I just wanted my free agency to be over with. In my heart, I felt great about Oklahoma and I wasn’t going to prolong it if I felt good about it already.” – he added.

Before entering the final year of his contract with the Indiana Pacers, Paul George decided to tell the organization that he doesn’t intend to sign the extension and would prefer to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Still, Lakers opted against trading for George, thinking they will get him for free in the summer of 2018. Knowing this, Thunder decided to make a gamble and trade for him regardless. The risk ended up paying off, and George remained in Oklahoma without even giving Lakers a meeting with him.

Although Paul George put up significant numbers in the past season – 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game – Oklahoma City Thunder underachieved and ended up being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. George is well aware of this and intends to make a better impression in the next season.

“I felt when it came down to it and all the factors that played into it, deep down there was a nasty taste where we finished,” – he said. “I just felt I had more to offer. I had more to give. I just felt about where we were as a whole.”

The post Paul George Explains His Decision to Stay in OKC appeared first on SportzBonanza.