Before the trade deadline, most Oklahomans knew only that Switzerland produces good chocolate, helpful pocketknives, secretive banks, and hot blondes. Little did we know that the country could also provide difference making basketball players.
An afterthought dealt by the Bulls after their "blockbuster" trade which netted them John Salmons overloaded the team at the wing, Thabo Sefolosha's being moved was not picked up by the media until well after the league's deadline had expired. Just mere weeks later, the Thunder's acquisition of the Swiss national in return for a late first round pick in a weak draft class is already being billed as the steal of this year's trade season.
It is not hard to see why. The one time the team has lost in the past two weeks (a time frame in which the Thunder's two best players--Kevin Durant and Jeff Green--have both missed) it was when Sefolosha missed with a sprained MCL. One could pass that off as a coincidence, but Julian Wright, the player that Sefolosha would have guarded, went off for a career high twenty points in that game. With Thabo in the line up, you can rest assured that would not have happened.
While I have been ranting about the need for better shooting from the shooting guard position, it turns out that what the team really needed was better defense from the wing. As Kevin Durant recuperates from his sprained ankle, Sefolosha has been making his presence felt. While his numbers are not as glitzy as the man he has been subbing for, Thabo has not been shabby. During the past five games he has played in, Sefolosha has averaged the following while playing approximately the same number of minutes as K.D.:
- 14.2 points
- 7.0 rebounds
- 2.8 assists
- 2.6 steals
- 1.4 blocks
- 1.4 turnovers