Oklahoma City Thunder: Missing Thabo Sefolosha
The Thunder has played 18 games with Thabo Sefolosha in the lineup. The Thunder is 16-2 with Thabo. The Thunder has played eight games without Sefolosha. The Thunder is 4-4 without Thabo.
I don’t think those numbers are a coincidence. Sefolosha is expected to be back soon from a foot injury, and his return can come none too soon for the Thunder.
Now, Sefolosha’s absence has paid some dividends. Daequan Cook has become a dependable scorer in Thabo’s void. In the seven games since Sefolosha was sidelined, Cook has averaged 9.8 points a game and shot 45.3 percent from the field. In the other 18 games this season, Cook averaged 4.6 points and 37.7 percent shooting.
If Cook can maintain that kind of production when Sefolosha returns, maybe the injury was worth it. Everyone wants the Thunder to have a fourth scorer, well here you go. Cook at 9.8 points a game is a heck of a player. His playing time will go down with Sefolosha’s return, but perhaps not significantly. Scotty Brooks has been playing a smaller lineup more and more down the stretch. That could continue, even with Sefolosha’s return. Cook has averaged 30 minutes a game the last seven games; no reason for Cook to start playing the 14-15 minutes a game he was averaging before Sefolosha’s injury.
But despite Cook’s increased scoring punch, the Thunder has missed Thabo, and missed him badly.
Sefolosha is averaging 20.9 minutes a game this season, but his most important minutes are played at the start. The Thunder defense has been anywhere from mediocre to awful at the start of games.
In the seven games without Thabo, the Thunder has allowed an average of 29.9 points in the first quarter. That’s an awful figure. The Clippers scored 36, the Warriors 35, the Blazers 31, the Grizzlies 30 and the Mavericks 29.
Check out these numbers. This is the hot-shooting start of the seven opponents since Thabo was injured:
Clippers: 11 of 18.
Mavs: 13 of 17.
Grizzlies: 13 of 28.
Spurs: 9 of 20.
Blazers: 12 of 23.
Warriors 13 of 17.
Kings: 7 of 8.
Sefolosha would make a huge difference there. The Thunder could use some first-quarter stops. And if Cook can keep producing, Thabo’s absence might have been worth it.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Comments
Berry, this is a great article with some great numbers, but you left out an important one that I’ve been curious about: how many 1st quarter points were we giving up with Thabo IN the starting lineup?
Berry, we are also desperately missing a center. Ole Perk’s stats continue to solidify his position nearvthe bottom of the heap. He has almost as many technicals and turnovers as he has rebounds or points. Also, what is the deal with Nick? His points over the past 8 games are almost nil.
Finally, as long as I am venting, why doesn’t Brooks insert Aldrich once in a while? How much worse could he be? He is athletic, has skills, can actually catch the ball and as a mean streak.
Not ONLY Thabo, but Eric Maynor. These guys along with Nick Collison are truly team guys that put winning and the success of the team before all else. I agree Dequan has grown some and it was a smart move to put him in the starting lineup instead of James. If Russell and Kevin would use Dequan more, he could be even more effective. Penetration to draw two defenders, particularly toward Dequan so his defender has to come off him to help, would result in great looks for Dequan and help the team significantly on offense. A true point guard would be using Dequan to create lots of space for Russell and KD, not to mention James and the big guys!