The Atlanta Hawks lost Kyle Korver for the remainder of the playoffs with a severe high right ankle sprain suffered in a Game 2 loss to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals Friday night. The Hawks already trail the best-of-seven series after losing the first two games at home. They now face an uphill climb without their starting shooting guard.
Korver was injured with a minute remaining in the third quarter when he caught his ankle under the Cavaliers’ Matthew Dellavedova while scrambling for a loose ball. He immediately left the game with what the team ruled a sprain. X-rays done Friday night were negative.
Korver had a follow-up MRI and examination Saturday morning at Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic that revealed the severity of the injury. Korver will see a foot and ankle specialist to determine the best course of action, which could include surgery. A date for that examination has yet to be determined.
News that Korver would be lost for the season was first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“He is such a good teammate and he is such a competitor to not be there in the middle of this opportunity, in the middle of this series, you can just imagine it’s very, very difficult for him personally but more so for how much this team has done together, how much he’s been a part of that,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said on a conference call Saturday.
“He’s a huge part of our leadership, our fabric, our fiber. It’s hard on him, but he’s also very mature. He understands that it’s part of competing, part of sports. Considering the circumstances, he’s handling it in a really mature, really professional, way. He feels really badly for his team and obviously for himself.”
The Hawks escaped serious injury news when DeMarre Carroll suffered a left knee sprain in Game 1 of the series. He was able to play in Game 2 — with the primary assignment of guarding Cavaliers star LeBron James — but clearly was limited.
Korver was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team this season, his first selection. Korver played 75 games and averaged 12.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 32.2 minutes.
He garnered much national attention as he nearly shot 50 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free-throw line. He finished at 48.7, 49.2 and 89.8, respectively. Korver led in the NBA in 3-point percentage, making 221 of 449 attempts.
Korver struggled in the playoffs. In 14 games he averaged 11.1 points in 37.6 minutes, but shot only 35.5 percent from 3-point range. Korver scored 12 points, including 10 in the first quarter, in Game 2 before leaving with the injury. It was his highest point total since Game 2 of the semifinals series against the Wizards.
“The mental approach is going to be important,” Budenholzer said of moving forward. “It kind of hammers it home. Whether we are down in a series, whether we’ve lost a player, whatever the situation may be, having the right mental approach no matter what the situation, no matter what is happening, is going to be the most important thing for us. You almost get double-punched.
“It just fortifies, or makes it more clear to you, how important our approach is. Not just because of where we are in the series but in addition we lost Kyle.”
Budenholzer said the team has yet to make a decision on who will replace Korver in the starting lineup. That decision will likely come Sunday morning before Game 3 in Cleveland. Kent Bazemore figures to see some time at the position as he usually is a first-quarter substitute for Korver in the Hawks’ normal rotation. Bazemore also will spell Carroll, who will start Game 3.
“Injuries are such a big part of our league and a big part of the playoffs,” Budenholzer said. “Everybody has to deal with them and we’re not any different. Of course, you’d love to have everybody healthy and have your whole team at full speed. That’s the ideal. But you can’t spend too much time or frustration thinking about it, concerned about it.
“You have to get your mind right. You have to get your mind focused. The guys who are healthy and the guys who are available get ready to compete, get ready to get after it, and go play a basketball game.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
