"Of course you go home sometimes and you say, 'Man, I wanted to play so much. I feel I could've helped them,'" Sefolosha said late Saturday. "You're frustrated. But then you go back the next day and keep working.

"I know everybody sounds the same, but that's what it is. You have to keep working in practice and when times get tough and you don't play much you have to stay positive and keep doing your job. You have to get your mind off the playing time. You work for down the line. It's not the five or six games I didn't play that matters, it's the next game, five games, 10 games that matter."

There's a perception that Sefolosha failed to run with the starting job handed to him in late October when Larry Hughes separated his shoulder and coach Vinny Del Negro moved Kirk Hinrich -- before his injury -- into a role coming off the bench.

That perception is challenged by this: In the only three games in which Sefolosha played 24 or more minutes, he reached double figures all three times and averaged 11.7 points, three assists and three steals.

"Thabo's a professional," guard Ben Gordon said. "He never complains or moans. He just comes out and when his number is called, he produces. You have to give him a lot of credit. He stays ready. He works on his game. It showed."

In the six games Sefolosha started this season, he averaged just 17.8 minutes because of foul trouble, matchups or inefficient play.

"The rotations sometimes aren't there for him, but he's been terrific working," Del Negro said. "That's why you do all that extra running and shooting and stay prepared. When you seize an opportunity and make a contribution to the team, that's what being a professional is all about."

Sefolosha's 10 points and four steals against Utah featured a critical three-pointer in the fourth quarter and solid defense against 6-foot-11-inch Mehmet Okur. Though Okur isn't a prototype center in that he prefers shooting jumpers from the perimeter, the assignment underscored Sefolosha's defensive versatility.

In his occasional dark moments, Sefolosha leaned heavily on his family, which now includes a 7-month-old daughter. Not that Sefolosha -- one of the more mature, well-rounded and cultured players on the team -- needs it, but fatherhood has expanded his perspective.

"It's the best thing in the world," he said. "My family helps me keep my head up. I look at the positive. I'm here in the NBA. I keep working, and hopefully my chance will come."

kcjohnson@tribune.com