Hawks lose Sefolosha for season, including playoffs
Published on Friday, 4/10/15, at 1:00 a.m. Eastern.
Atlanta suffered a huge loss late Thursday when it learned that reserve forward Thabo Sefolosha will miss the rest of the season, including the playoffs, after breaking his fibula while being arrested in New York City on Wednesday morning. TMZ VIDEO HERE.
Sefolosha was averaging 5.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He is an ace defender who has lots of postseason experience from his days with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The NBA playoffs are all about matchups and if a Hawks-Cavs series materializes in a potential Eastern Conference finals showdown, Sefolosha’s ability to defend LeBron James will be missed.
The main benefactor in terms of increased minutes will be Kent Bazemore, who played well when Sefolosha missed more than a month with an injury until recently returning.
Sefolosha and reserve center Pero Antic were both arrested in NYC on multiple misdemeanor charges after refusing to clear the crime scene when Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland was stabbed around 4:00 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Sefolosha and Antic had played in Atlanta’s blowout win over Phoenix on Tuesday night in Atlanta. The game ended at about 10:00 p.m., so you would imagine there’s now way the Hawks got into the air until 11:15 p.m. at the absolute earliest. And that’s at least a two-hour flight to NYC, meaning the players couldn’t have been at a bar in the city until…what?….2:30 a.m. at the earliest?
Not that I haven’t consumed Budweisers galore past 2:30 a.m., but not when I had a game the next day. Again, I’m not really judging but c’mon, Thabo! This is Chafe City for what has been a Dream Season for life-long suffering Hawks fans such as Yours Truly.
Anyway, Atlanta will host Charlotte tonight at Philips Arena. The Hawks are favored by 10 at most books, while the total is 196 points. The Hornets are +450 on the money line.
All-Star forward Paul Millsap will miss another game with a shoulder injury. John Jenkins is ‘questionable’ and didn’t make the trip to Brooklyn for Wednesday’s win.
Sportsbook.ag has Atlanta with 15/1 odds to win the NBA title. The Hawks are at +340 to in the East. They have never advanced to the Eastern Conference finals in franchise history.
