Assessing the Thunder’s Summer of Surgery

Royce Young reported yesterday that both Paul George and Russell Westbrook underwent surgery for injuries sustained during the end of the regular season. George underwent surgery to repair a tear in his right rotator cuff, while Westbrook had his metacarpophalangeal ligament in his left 4th finger surgically repaired, and an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee. Later this summer, George will also have a small tear in his the labrum of his left shoulder surgically repaired.

If you’re keeping count that’s four different surgeries. So, let’s break down what all of this means, starting with George’s rotator cuff.

What is a rotator cuff?

The rotator cuff refers to four muscles (the…