When the Atlanta Hawks signed Thabo Sefolosha last summer, there was a general consensus that their were two different possibilities for the type of player they could get. There was the Sefolosha from 2011-13 who shot lights out from three-point range, and became a vital component of Oklahoma City’s offense, or there was the guy who couldn’t make a shot last season.
Of course, there’s more to Sefolosha’s game than that too. He’s an outstanding defender who takes full advantage of his long arms to get tight to his man, and disrupt plays in the passing lanes. He’s also a very underrated rebounder, averaging 5.8 boards per 36 minutes for the duration of his career. Still in the context of this Hawks team shooting was always going to be vital.
Atlanta’s style of play and the free flowing offense that has seen them rise to the top of the Eastern Conference is built around ball movement. The Hawks are always looking to make the extra pass, and as a result are one of the most unselfish teams in the NBA. That style of play can only work though when every player on the floor can shoot, and a coach has full trust in their abilities.
Consider that, and then consider that Sefolosha’s current season shooting percentages are 41.8 percent from the field and 28 percent from three-point range. So, it’s fair to say it seems like an unmitigated failure, right? Well, not quite.
It sure started that way, and whether it was down to learning a new system, bedding in with his new teammates, or even just adjusting to life in a new city, Sefolosha seemed to find himself on a different wavelength in the opening exchanges of his Atlanta Hawks career.
For his first 22 games as a Hawk, Sefolosha averaged 4.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game, while shooting a woeful 33.6 percent from the field and 12.5 percent from deep.
Then there was a turning point. Starting with Atlanta’s 29 point victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Quicken Loans Arena on Dec. 17, Sefolosha’s confidence seems to have soared, and his shooting has come along with it.
For his last 12 games, 11 of which have been Hawks victories, the 30-year-old Swiss has averaged 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds, but much more importantly his shooting has improved to an outstanding 58.8 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from three-point range during that spell.
It’s an almost incomprehensible improvement considering how poor the veteran swingman had started the season, but on a team as good as Atlanta currently is, I suppose it would be hard not to get swept along with the wave.
Prior to the start of the season, Sefolosha spoke with Chris Vivlamore of the AJC at just how complex the Hawks system can be, and hinted that it could take him time to adjust:
“You have to know the system and where the other guys are going to be. When you have the ball in your hands you’ve got to know where the guys are moving and where the spot is going to be and even when you don’t have the ball in your hands you have to take in consideration what the other guys are doing. It’s really a thin balance of moving and staying within the system.”
In other words, Atlanta’s style of play is all a matter of timing and understanding. Early in the season, Thabo Sefolosha hadn’t quite got his timing right, and wasn’t quite seeing the reads in the same way as his teammates, but now to the joy of Hawks’ fans, it seems they’re firmly on the same page.