George had '18 to 20 ounces of blood' drained from shooting elbow

Paul George's shooting numbers dipped after a hot start to his first season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, as he hit just 32.4 percent from three in 23 games after the All-Star break. He also complained about his shooting form not feeling right before the Thunder fell to the Utah Jazz in Round 1 of last year's playoffs. Now, the five-time All-Star has given a reason for his shooting woes.

"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 The Washington Post's Tim Bontemps. "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."

The blood drained from George's elbow wasn't the only procedure he had during the offseason. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on May 9, and was given a recovery timeline of six-to-eight weeks.

"The knee is doing good," George said. "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."