Kyle Korver was doing his best to fight off a screen when the Atlanta Hawks faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers and it was Korver’s face that was almost knocked off thanks to Ed Davis’ shoulder.
Korver broke his nose last night and was immediately taken out of the game and didn’t return. Now it looks like he will definitely be missing this week and possibly beyond.
Following from an Atlanta Hawks press release.
Hawks guard Kyle Korver suffered a broken nose in last night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. He underwent a procedure to repair his nose today at the Osborne Head and Neck Institute in Los Angeles, performed by Dr. Jason Hamilton, and was fitted for a custom protective mask. Korver will miss the next three games, including tonight at Sacramento, and his status will be updated as appropriate.
The 52-14 Hawks are the first team in the NBA to have clinched a playoff spot already and they were the first team to get to 50 wins. They are currently in the middle of a tough Western Conference road trip as they play without Korver against the Kings tonight but then have a highly-anticipated rematch with the Western Conference-leading Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. Korver will also be out for Friday’s game against the Thunder in Oklahoma City and if he misses any more time beyond that, he will also be out on Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs at home.
The Hawks currently hold a 10-game lead over the second-place Cleveland Cavaliers for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. It would be very hard for the Hawks to lose that lead and head coach Mike Budenholzer has already started resting players against some lesser opponents. There are some injury concerns with Atlanta’s bench when you consider the health of perimeter defensive stopper Thabo Sefolosha and reserve forward Mike Scott. There shouldn’t be much to worry about with Korver though as his injury isn’t expected to linger into the playoffs but hopefully any mask he wears doesn’t disrupt his vision on the court but as we saw with Russell Westbrook, a mask seems to empower players more than anything.
