Why Jeff Teague should make the 2014-15 NBA All-Star Game
Atlanta Hawks starting point guard Jeff Teague is one of the best point guards in the NBA. Can he make the 2014-15 NBA All-Star game?
Who doesn’t love their freshman year in college? There is so much excitement, joy and a new way of looking at life. Students gather around to go to different social events together, like joining fraternities, sororities and clubs. As for other students, they start to work in the athletics department working with athletes.
It was 2009, the spring semester of my freshman year at Barry University, and I had the privilege or covering some of the major events at school. As I was working I had the opportunity to see the 2009 Wake Forest basketball team practice inside of the home court of the Barry Buccaneers during the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
I couldn’t believe what I was watching when I saw Wake Forest practice. They were preparing for their game against Cleveland State, and their future NBA player, point guard Norris Cole. That Wake Forest team had some future NBA players on their roster themselves, Al-Farouq Aminu, James Johnson and the lighting quick point guard, Jeff Teague.
After practice Teague stood in the hallway with his teammates, but looked a bit sheepish due to the attention his team was receiving from everyone.
Six years later that same sheepish point guard is now tearing up the NBA and looks like one of the best point guards in a league where it’s extremely deep at that position.
Ever heard the phrase “Can’t keep a good dog down?”
We’ll you can’t keep a good point guard down and this year Teague should get selected as one of the point guards to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2015 NBA All-Star game.
The Spurs Of the East
When the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Boston Celtics 105-91, the Hawks recorded their tenth straight win, which was the first time they’ve done that in 17 years.
The Hawks have the best record in the Eastern Conference with a 31-8 record and are one of the sleeper teams to win the division. If they can manage to keep up the pace it’ll be the first time the Hawks have won the Eastern Conference this decade. It’ll also be the first time since the 1993-1994 season where they finish with the best record in the East.
The beauty of the Hawks is that they share the glory. There are no 20-point scorers on the team, and no players on the roster who take more than 13 shots a game.
In fact the Hawks are one of the most unselfish teams in the league. They average 27.2 assists per game which is good enough for No. 2 in the NBA. In addition, because they are sharing the wealth, the Hawks offense has been lethal. They are No. 7 when it comes to points per game scoring the basketball an average of 103.1 points per game.
It’s hard to deny a team with the best record in the Eastern Conference two players on the All-Star team, and why should we? The leader of the Hawks, Paul Millsap should be making his second All-Star game appearance, while the emerging star of the team, Teague should be making his first.
Teague may not be Tony Parker, but because of his game the Hawks do look like their Western Conference model, the San Antonio Spurs.
Firsto Lasto
In what was an error made by the broadcasting company of CSN, turned out to become one of the best nicknames I’ve heard for Teague. We present, Firsto Lasto.
In a league dominated by point guards
Lasto
Teague stands tall.
Teague is scoring at the best rate of his career averaging 17.5 points per game. Those scoring numbers are extremely efficient because he’s putting up great scoring numbers without having to take a ton of shots. This year Teague is averaging 12.7 shots per game and is shooting 48 percent from the floor which is good enough for fourth in all point guards in the league.
Aside from his scoring what’s really starting to separate Teague from his point guard peers is his ability to pass.
He’s dishing out more assists than great point guards such as Damian Lillard, Eric Bledsoe, and Jrue Holiday, averaging a career high 7.2 assists per game which is tied for eighth in the league.
In an interview with Brett Koremenos of Grantland.com, the Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer said this about Teague’s passing:
"“He’s got a lot of ability,” says Budenholzer. “What’s unique about him is his ability to pass. His vision is better than I expected. And his ability to play at different paces is a little better than I expected.”"
Teague’s court vision not only is the reason why the Hawks are No. 2 in assists in the league, but it’s also why the Hawks are recording assists on nearly 70 percent of their made field goal attempts, and partially the reason the Hawks are ranked within the top three when it comes to assists to turnovers a night.
Furthermore it’s even more impressive that Teague is leading the Hawks when they play on the road. The Hawks have a 15-5 record on the road which are the most road wins by a team in the league. In those tough games on the road Teague is averaging 18.6 points, 7.2 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and is shooting 48 percent from the floor and 38 percent from the three-point line.
Seriously?
After John Wall, and Kyle Lowry, what other point guard deserves the nod before Teague? Remember how they say all dogs have their day? Well every point guard has their’s.
Oh yeah and that Barry University team we talked about in the beginning now has the No. 7 ranked team in Division II basketball.
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