What Losing Thabo Sefolosha Means to the Atlanta Hawks

Oct 29, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Atlanta Hawks guard Thabo Sefolosha (25) tries to get around Toronto Raptors forward James Johnson (3) at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Atlanta 109-102. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Last week Atlanta Hawks Small Forward Thabo Sefolosha and Power Forward Pero Antic were involved in an obstruction of justice charge in New York City while the team was in the area to play the Brooklyn Nets. Sefolosha broke his leg during the incident, sidelining him for the remainder of the season including the playoffs. Antic has since returned to the team and has resumed playing.

Sefolosha has been a role player for the Hawks, coming off the bench to shoot threes and play defense. His 5.3 PPG and 1.3 RPG are not a significant loss on the surface. He only averaged 18.8 minutes per game as well, so it’s not like the team has been dealt a major blow of losing a core player.

Still, Sefolosha has a lot of value to the team. He has had injuries this year and missed 28 games now. The Hawks are just 17-11 in those contests. For a team that is 60-21, that’s not a good sign. It’s an .811 winning percentage with Thabo and a .607 winning percentage without him.

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Rest assured, if the Hawks can continue the .607 winning percentage in the playoffs they’ll be just fine. But the competition and intensity of the NBA Playoffs is much more than what’s seen in the regular season. It’s going to be a dogfight to reach that .607 mark against the best of the best.

Sefolosha’s playoff experience will be missed as well. A nine-year NBA veteran, he has played in the postseason each of the last six seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and seven times overall in his career.

He’s one of the Hawks best defenders – a key component of winning a championship. There’s no doubt his loss will sting, and hamstring the team in their bid to win a title.

But life goes on, and the Hawks will have to make due. Fortunately, they are used to playing without Thabo because of his injury absence. Hopefully other bench players can step up their game to make up for the loss.