Atlanta Hawks: How Poor Fit Can Turn Elite Talent Average
Jeff Teague: Where All-Star Is Average
It is worth mentioning again that Jeff Teague plays at the most talented and deep position in the league, where a player who is considered relatively average or below average like Jeremy Lin could still erupt for 30 linsane points on any given night.
With the exception of the best of the very best, most starting point guards on playoff teams often come close to canceling each other on any given night in terms of offense generated in terms of points and assists.
If not, the deficit created will probably be small. If you look at the raw numbers for starting point guards on last years playoff teams you would find that the numbers are across the board very similar give or take a point or two. With that kind of competition, the goal is often more to negate your opponent than to strongly create an imbalance for your team. Jeff Teague squarely falls into that category of eminently capable, but not the best of the very best, and that is still very valuable for a team.
However, having a point guard like that essentially puts you at a net neutral at the higher levels of competition. In a basketball game, being tied with your opponent is fine, but you have to move past that to win.
At the highest levels, Jeff Teague does not consistently provide that needle movement. Therefore, unless you’re replacing a Teague like player with a rare absolute stud like Stephen Curry or Russell Westbrook, you need another player to pair with Teague who can put the score past practical zero.
Al Horford and Paul Millsap could theoretically be those players. While they may be considered close at an overall impact level to Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap and Al Horford play at a shallower position, where players of their caliber are not as common.
Therefore, it is easier and more common for them to outperform their positional counterparts. Teague was also for the Hawks the only “star” on the team who could be classified as a naturally “selfish” score first player. This is very important.
Next: Redundancy