Can The Hawks Win With Jeff Teague?
The Atlanta Hawks are a franchise at a pivotal crossroads heading into the 2012 campaign. The team has earned four consecutive postseason berths but has suffered three straight second round playoff eliminations – two of which were resounding sweeps.
Hawks’ ownership, known for being one of the league’s most frugal, has invested close to $200 million in the past year to retain the services of All-Stars Joe Johnson and Al Horford.
Unfortunately, top tier talent isn’t what the Hawks lack on their roster – it’s been the inability to surround their stars with the right mix of role players.
One of the biggest question marks surrounding the team’s roster since the beginning of this century has been the strength (or lack thereof) of their point guard unit.
The Hawks have been searching for a true floor general since Mookie Blaylock departed town in 1999.
From Brevin Knight to Jason Terry to Tyronn Lue or Mike Bibby the Hawks just haven’t been able to plug the gap at the lead guard position.
In 2005, Atlanta had an opportunity to draft Chris Paul or Deron Williams (perennial All-Stars) with the No. 2 overall pick but instead chose to bank on the upside of Marvin Williams to bolster their frontcourt.
While Williams has developed into a capable starter recording double-digit scoring averages in five of his first six seasons in the league – it was an obvious draft whiff.
The moves the team has made over the past four years clearly show the desire to shore up the hole at point guard.
In 2007 the team selected Acie Law No. 11 overall.
In 2008, the franchise acquired Mike Bibby via trade.
In 2009, the club selected Wake Forest standout Jeff Teague with the No. 19 overall pick.
In 2011, the club packaged Bibby, their 2011 first round pick and rookie guard Jordan Crawford to Washington in exchange for point guard Kirk Hinrich.
Obviously with the huge investment the Hawks made to acquire Hinrich you’d think there would be no question who the team’s starting point guard would be heading into next season – right?
Not so fast.
It’s easy to forget Teague entered the 2011 campaign as a legit candidate to unseat Bibby as the club’s starter. However, the combination of a sprained ankle during preseason and Bibby’s early season torrid shooting streak from long range helped keep Teague firmly glued to the end of the bench.
In fact, the club’s dealing for Hinrich at the trade deadline further seemed to indicate the Hawks weren’t in the least convinced Teague had the goods to be given the keys to the offense long term.
This was evident by Teague’s regular season tally of 23 games with less than ten minutes of playing time and a combined 55 appearances logging less than twenty minutes of floor time.
It appeared Teague’s early career path was on the same trajectory of Law’s.
{AUTHOR_BOX} That all changed during the second round of the playoffs versus the Chicago Bulls this year.
After playing only two games and logging a total of nine minutes in the Hawks’ surprise first round upset over the Orlando Magic, news came that Hinrich would be unavailable for round two due to a hamstring injury.
On deck were the Bulls who boasted the league’s MVP in point guard Derrick Rose.
Make no mistake; defending Rose is a daunting task for any guard in the game today but it was magnified tremendously for Teague who was withering away on Atlanta’s bench.
But Teague responded to the challenge as the Hawks unexpectedly managed to at one point tie the series at two games apiece. Through those four contests, Teague averaged 16 points and 3.8 assists against arguably one of the league’s toughest defensive units.
Teague would also erupt for 21 points in the game five loss. The most telling sign of Teague’s emergence was that he only committed seven turnovers during the entire series (Bulls won 4-2).
The ability of Teague to hold his own versus the league MVP in a playoff pressure cooker has boosted the belief that he may be ready to assume the full-time starter reins permanently.
“I like the progress Teague has made in the last couple of years,” Hawks executive vice president and general manager Rick Sund told reporters last Friday. “He’s had his highs and lows, but you’ve got to be ready to play. He got a break when Hinrich got hurt and he took advantage of it, which is good for him and good for us. So it gives the coach a lot of flexibility moving forward.”
Overall, flexibility is something the Hawks has little of at the moment.
The team isn’t in position to draft an impact player since it dealt its first round pick in the Hinrich trade.
The club also isn’t expected to be major players in free agency since they’re currently over the salary cap as it stands today.
There are rampant rumors circulating that everyone not named Horford or Johnson could be dealt for the right amount of talent in return.
With Hinrich entering the final season of his current contract it would seem as though the Hawks would fully entrust Teague to lead their quest to break the continued second round playoff ouster trend.
His teammates trust his ability, but the coaching staff hasn’t been as convinced over the past two seasons. Teague has put together solid stretches during his career but consistency has been a known issue.
The common belief is Teague plays better when he’s free of worry; when he doesn’t have to look over his shoulder after every on court mistake. Allowing Hinrich to start next season would likely put Teague in the same predicament as in years past from a mental standpoint-.
The Hawks don’t need herculean numbers from Teague. They have plenty of guys capable of carrying the offensive load.
The question is whether Teague can be the floor general running the point if the Hawks ever make it deeper in the postseason behind team captains Horford, Johnson and Smith.
Two of the Hawks’ top talents were drafted by the franchise – Horford in 2007 and Smith in 2004. At one point each of those guys got an opportunity to demonstrate what they could bring to the table on a full-time basis.
Let’s see if Teague is ready for the challenge.
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