The Atlanta Hawks announced Saturday that big man Pero Antic will miss Monday's preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans due to surgery following a broken nose. Antic suffered the broken nose during a practice in training camp on Thursday and had surgery to repair the injury on Friday at a local hospital. It's not known immediately how long Antic will be out for the Hawks, but he'll at least miss the next few days.
From the team:
Atlanta Hawks forward/center Pero Antic suffered a broken nose during Thursday’s training camp practice in Athens, GA. He underwent surgery Friday afternoon at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, performed by Dr. Joseph Williams. Antic will miss Monday’s preseason contest against New Orleans and his status will be updated as appropriate.
Antic was a 31-year old rookie out of Macedonia last season and became an instant fan favorite for the Hawks. In 50 games, Antic averaged 7.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 18.5 minutes. He was used as a big man to stretch the floor when Al Horford went down, and he was a bit of a matchup confusion for the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs when the eighth-seeded Hawks pushed the top-seeded Pacers to seven games.
The Hawks were decimated by injuries last season, which dropped them from the third seed in the first couple months of the season down to barely hanging on to the No. 8.
