The Atlanta Hawks are the new darlings of the NBA. Their 36-8 record has taken the NBA by storm and they currently lead the Eastern Conference by a whopping 6.5 games over the Washington Wizards. Their victory Friday night over the now fully healthy Oklahoma City Thunder was their 15th in a row. It was yet another statement on their legitimacy as a championship contender.
One of the catalysts behind this surging Hawks team has been their point guard Jeff Teague. Teague is a blur with the ball and is having the best season of his career in Mike Budenholzer’s up-tempo Spursian offensive system.
Coming into Friday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Teague was averaging 17.2 points and 7.4 assists per game with a player efficiency rating of 22.74. All three are career highs for the sixth-year point guard out of Wake Forest University. Teague was at his best against the Thunder, scoring 17 points and handing nine assists in the 10-point Atlanta victory.
Despite all this success, and playing for the best team in the Eastern Conference, Teague was not voted to start the All-Star Game by the fans. This is not exactly surprising. Though Teague clearly deserves it, All-Star voting is nothing more than a popularity contest.
The Hawks do not have the pizazz of the LeBron James-led Cavaliers or the brand recognition of the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. Nor does he have an entire country behind him. It makes sense that casual NBA fans would fail to appreciate a player on a team that lacks one true super-star. The Hawks win with team oriented basketball and sometimes that goes unappreciated.
Starting in the guard spots for the Eastern Conference will be Toronto’s Kyle Lowry (well done, Canada), and Washington’s John Wall.
Of course, Teague still has a chance to make the roster. The coaches in the Eastern Conference will choose the reserves. After getting torched by Teague’s Hawks plenty of times, I’m sure they have seen more than enough to decide that he is worthy of being an All-Star.
The other point guards that will likely garner consideration should be Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets, and Brandon Knight of the Milwaukee Bucks. Let’s take a look at Teague’s numbers compared to those two, and for good measure we will also compare him to Lowry and Wall. (table as of Jan. 23)
| Player | FG% | 3P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Knight | .445 | .396 | .886 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 1.6 | 18.2 |
| Kyle Lowry | .428 | .329 | .799 | 4.9 | 7.5 | 1.6 | 19.8 |
| Jeff Teague | .472 | .339 | .867 | 2.7 | 7.4 | 1.8 | 17.2 |
| Kemba Walker | .403 | .323 | .822 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 19.0 |
| John Wall | .457 | .311 | .776 | 4.3 | 10.0 | 2.1 | 17.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/23/2015.
It’s obvious that Teague is on par with his competitors, and even better in several ways. He has the highest effective field goal percentage of them all at 51.4 percent, the highest field goal percentage at 47.2 percent, the most win shares per 48 minutes, the highest PER at 22.7, and the highest true shooting percentage at 58.6 percent, according to basketball reference.com.
Teague also has the second highest assist percentage at 39.5 percent, tied for the highest total win shares with 5.5, all with a usage rate of only 25.3 percent. You could even make the argument that Teague should be starting over Wall or Lowry.
Kyrie Irving also has a chance to make the game as a reserve, but I keep thinking that perhaps some anti-Cavs backlash will keep him out, thanks to their much publicized and rocky first half of the season.
I’m not saying Wall and Lowry are not deserving, I just happen to think Teague is as deserving if not more so. Several metrics back that up, as do the standings.
After factoring in all the stats, it’s clear that Teague deserves to represent Atlanta in the All-Star game, then there’s the old-school argument that still holds some weight. What is each team’s goal every night they take the floor? To win the game.
The Hawks have done that more than every other team in the Eastern Conference and more than every team in the Western Conference not named the Golden State Warriors. Teague leads the Hawks in scoring, assists, PER, and steals. His is the engine that keeps this fine-tuned machine rolling and it would be wrong to keep him out of the All-Star game.
In the end I believe Teague will be chosen to play in the All-Star game. He is arguably the best player on one of the best teams in the NBA, and the coaches will recognize that.
Kyle Korver, Al Horford, and Paul Millsap could also make compelling cases, but if only one player makes the squad it will be the speedy point guard.