Thabo Sefolosha will be in the Hawks starting lineup for tonight’s game against the Cavaliers in a move predicated on defending LeBron James.
The Hawks are without starting guard Kyle Korver after his wife delivered the couple’s third child on Sunday. Korver will return for Wednesday’s home game against the Bulls.
“That is a big part of it,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said of his decision being based on guarding the Cavaliers superstar. “Thabo has a lot of experience guarding LeBron James. He has been playing great so far this year. It’s nice to Tim (Hardaway Jr.) come off the bench. With Tim and Thabo, they’ve both been playing pretty good and they’ll play even more.”
Sefolosha is fifth in the NBA in plus/minus rating at plus-76 and his second in plus/minus per game at 12.7. He is averaging 7.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 2.7 assists in 22.5 minutes off the bench. He also second in the league in steals (2.8) and fifth in steal/turnover ratio (2.83).
“I don’t think there is (a key) actually,” Sefolosha said of guarding James. “It depends on what kind of night he is having. He is super physical and I think it’s definitely a team job because when he drives to the basket one-on-one it’s tough. At the same time, he involves his teammates so well. Everybody has to be scrambling and never give up on a possession.”
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