Miami • When he looked at his stats from Friday’s start in Denver, Thabo Sefolosha saw 10 points, five rebounds, two steals, one block and 4-for-11 shooting.
His thought? Not good enough.
“I really didn’t like the way I played,” he said. “I felt like I was not really sharp.”
His response in his second straight start was to wrap up without a miss: Against the Miami Heat in a 103-102 loss, Sefolosha was 4 for 4 from the field, scoring 13 points with six rebounds and three steals, playing a key role in keeping it close for the Jazz.
It’s been up and down for Sefolosha this season as he’s been juggled with Joe Johnson (who had nine points and seven rebounds off the bench) and Jonas Jerebko (who didn’t play). But the last two games have seen what could be described as momentum for the 11th-year forward, and he found a lot of ways to affect the game.
Tasked for the second straight game with playing against a much bigger player, Sefolosha helped control Kelly Olynyk, who finished with 12 points and was 4 for 8 from the field. On certain plays when big men appeared uncovered in the paint, Sefolosha helped play safety (in a manner of speaking) and forced turnovers as the Heat tried to feed inside.
He also featured prominently in Utah’s start in the third quarter: After getting a dunk off a Ricky Rubio pass, he sent one up to Donovan Mitchell for a one-handed jam.
“I think communication, staying engaged, focused and just the sheer will, I think we looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s go and get it,’ ” he said of the second-half start. “If we want it, we’ve got to go for it.”
The defensive effort wasn’t consistent throughout the whole game, and Sefolosha lamented the breakdown on Miami’s final play, leading to Josh Richardson’s winning layup. While he said Derrick Favors “made a great effort” to try to block the shot, the team is looking for more consistency and would take steps to keep improving.
Has he done enough to make a case to be a full-time starter as long as Rudy Gobert is out? Sefolosha deferred.
“I’m not thinking about this too much, to be honest,” he said. “Whatever the coach needs me to do, and obviously we need to get some wins. If I start and we get wins, that’s great. If someone else stars and we get wins, I’m OK with that.”
Moving on from Gobert-Waiters incident
Neither Rudy Gobert (knee) nor Dion Waiters (ankle) were available for Sunday’s game, so Miami coach Erik Spoelstra wasn’t interested in revisiting any intrigue over their previous meeting.
When the Jazz played the Heat in November, Waiters crashed into Gobert’s knee and caused the center to eventually miss almost a month with a bone bruise. Gobert initially called the play “dirty,” backing down almost as soon as he said it, but still has cast doubt on Waiters’ intent through social media.
Spoelstra said in November that he thought Waiters simply had been trying to go for a loose ball. He said he didn’t have anything to add to that sentiment on Sunday.
Gobert missed the game with a knee injury suffered against the Boston Celtics in December — not the same injury he dealt with after playing the Heat.
Spoelstra hopes for the best for McCree
The Jazz were able to win something from the Heat recently: Forward Erik McCree.
Utah signed the forward out of Louisiana Tech last month to a two-way contract, swiping him from the Heat G-League affiliate in Sioux Falls. McCree spent training camp with the Heat, and Spoelstra apparently came away with a good impression.
“I’m glad he did get a nod and an opportunity to continue his career,” he said. “He’s aggressive, he’s one of those wings that we like. Defensive-minded. Aggressive. We felt there was an upside to build and develop him into a two-way type of player.”
