Minnesota Timberwolves: Jeff Teague’s new ceiling
The least discussed aspect of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ offseason additions is how a great offense — specifically with Jeff Teague running the point — could become elite.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the most veteran-laden teams in the league now. The additions of Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, and Jeff Teague have many feeling the T-Wolves will be one of the most improved teams in the league next season. I definitely believe that Minnesota’s defense will benefit from these additions. But the offense has a chance to make the leap from good to great.
Minnesota finished 10th in the league in points per 100 possessions. Their success came from beating teams inside the paint, feasting on free throws and offensive rebounds. This is why the addition of Teague will take their play to another level. Thibodeau took the team’s strength on offense and doubled down on it.
Teague’s year in Indiana
Last season, Teague finished with a career-high 5.1 free throw attempts per game. The biggest reason for this development was the fact that he set another career-high, with a whopping 29.5 percent of his shots coming within 0-3 feet of the rim.
That re-dedication to getting inside the paint brought back the drive-and-kick gusto that has made Teague so hard to stop during his career. It also opened up his playmaking ability, resulting in a career high assists total as well.
The potential of the Towns-Teague pick-and-roll
Teague has played with a plethora of floor-spacing bigs, but none with the offensive potential as Karl-Anthony Towns. Last season, a 21-year-old KAT finished in the 88th percentile in pick-and-roll efficiency.
He accomplished that by scoring 1.23 points per possession out of the pick-and-roll — a number aided by the fact that he has yet to shoot below 55 percent on two-point shots in his young career.
While Towns’ rugged inside scoring will give Teague ample opportunity to improve on his already decent three-point percentage, his outside game will allow Teague plenty of space to get into the lane.
Towns upped his three-point attempts to 3.4 per game and knocked down 36.7 percent of them. Pair that with Teague’s ability to knockdown long two-point jumpers, and you have the makings of a potent combo next season.
New lineup versatility
Teague’s pick-navigating prowess will allow head coach Tom Thibodeau to experiment with small-ball lineups. In these lineups, Andrew Wiggins would play the power forward spot. Wiggins has seen his minutes at the 4-spot decrease steadily since he entered the league three seasons ago.
This is counterintuitive with Teague’s arrival.
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Last season Wiggins scored 1.16 points per possession out of the pick-and-roll despite using the play type (i.e. being the “roll man”) less than two percent of the time, per NBA.com.
With Taj Gibson and Gourgi Dieng firmly entrenched as the “defense-first forwards,” their points will almost exclusively come from the T-Wolves’ point guard play. But even they will get a boost from the floor-spacing. They are both semi-reliable midrange shooters capable of finishing inside.
Having such a variety of outlets for his favorite play-type could see Teague’s assists numbers get legitimately close to 10 per game — especially as Thibodeau figures out which lineup combinations work best.
Thibodeau has a long-standing reputation for riding his starters extremely hard, for better or for worse. Entering his ninth season in the league, Teague will be given the keys to the show in Minneapolis. This is the first time he will have a shot to end a playoff drought for a downtrodden franchise.
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He has played in the NBA postseason every year of his career, and that is undoubtedly part of what made Thibodeau feel that he was such a great fit for the team. Team success is and always has been Teague’s No. 1 priority. But in 2017-18, Jeff Teague ‘s speed and shot-making ability are the keys to unlocking what could be one of the most effective offenses in the league.