Jeff Teague: Top 10 NBA Point Guard?

Atlanta Hawks Starting Point Guard Jeff Teague is coming off his best season as a professional. Teague earned his first selection to the NBA All-Star Game and led the 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks to the team’s first ever appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. In two years under Head Coach Mike Budenholzer’s player development system, Teague has become a master of Bud’s heavy-ball movement, read-and-react offense as the floor general for an elite team in the East.

Last season brought an unprecedented level of excitement to an organization long-forgotten by the media on a national landscape. The rise of Jeff Teague to national prominence as a household name was a major reason for the 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks’ success. While Jeff can most definitely get back to the 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto this upcoming season, is Teague now a Top 10 point guard in the National Basketball Association?

May 15, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) shoots as Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) defends during the first half in game six of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Even thought Top 10 or even Top Half doesn’t sound all that impressive, this era of NBA basketball is point guard driven. Just about any team that has serious title contending thoughts must have strong play from their point guard or at least a shooting guard that can distribute (i.e. James Harden of the Houston Rockets). So even if Jeff Teague is just a Top Half Starting PG heading into 2015-16, that shouldn’t make Atlanta Hawks’ fans worry about where their point guard falls in the pecking order of NBA PGs. We’re in a golden age of floor generals if you ask me.

The best way to attack this idea of essentially power ranking NBA point guards is to look at where Jeff Teague would fall in the six divisions in the NBA. If we stay in the Southeast, I would say that Teague is more polished than Orlando’s Victor Oladipo, more consistent than Charlotte’s Kemba Walker, and a more proven winner than Miami’s Goran Dragic. To me in the Southeast it’s between Teague and Washington’s John Wall. Given that Wall is a former number one overall pick and the face of the Wizards franchise, I’d give John Wall a slight edge over Teague on the national landscape. Most teams would be happy with either All-Star point guard.

To me the main challenger for Jeff Teague coming out of the Atlantic is Toronto’s Kyle Lowry. Lowry won the fan vote in the 2015 All-Star game as part of a very talented Raptors back court. When Teague and Lowry square off, they both are scrapping to get an edge over the other since it is such a close matchup. What sets Jeff Teague and Kyle Lowry apart is that Teague seems to have an extra gear offensively (Teague Time!) where Toronto needs to rely more on SG DeMar Derozan’s scoring than Lowry’s to get the Raps over the top in a close game. It’s close but I’ll take Jeff Teague over any point guard in the Atlantic Division.

-= Hawks All-Time Lists: Top 5 Head Coaches =-

The Central is a bit more interesting. I can’t say with confidence that Jeff Teague is better than Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving. Kyrie has arguably the best handle of the basketball of anybody in the Association. Milwaukee’s Michael Carter-Williams is not a proven shooter, Indiana’s George Hill turns the ball over too much for my liking, and Detroit’s PG duo of Brandon Jennings and Reggie Jackson haven’t won enough to prove to me their leadership qualities as floor general.

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The biggest challenger for Jeff Teague out of the Central is Chicago’s Derrick Rose. Before his ever-growing myriad of injuries, there was no doubt in my mind that D-Rose was a Top 5 player in the NBA. Though he had a relatively healthy 2014-15, Rose’s inability to stay on the court for the Bulls the last four seasons has led to many talented PGs to surpass him on the league’s hierarchy. The best ability is availability, something Rose just doesn’t have enough of to put him in the Top 5 any more. Again this is close, but I’ll take Teague’s reliability over Rose’s big ifs at this stage of the his career.

So in the Eastern Conference, I would say with great confidence that Jeff Teague is a Top 3 or 4 point guard, with only Kyrie Irving undoubtedly ahead of him. He’s Top 5 in the East without question. I just so happen to think he’s the third best behind Irving and Wall heading into 2015-16.

And then there’s the behemoth that is the Western Conference where there are so many deep and talented teams. Teague actually matches up favorably in the Southwest if you really think about it. I like Teague over Jrue Holliday and Tyreke Evans in New Orleans. Houston’s star PG is actually All-World SG James Harden. Dallas is a mess at the one. And Teague might actually be slightly better than San Antonio’s Tony Parker at this stage of their respective careers.

To me, the biggest challenger coming out of the Southwest for Jeff Teague is Memphis’ Mike Conley. I love Iron Mike Conley. While he’s fantastic for the Grizz, part of me wishes that Memphis played in the East so that Atlanta and Memphis could become geographical rivals. The Dirty South rivalry. Conley has not been an All-Star before but he certainly is a household name as the primary ball handler for the Grit N’ Grind Grizzlies. Of all the point guard comparisons in the NBA for Jeff Teague, Conley is the toughest. Honestly, you could make the case for either and there isn’t in my mind a clear separation between Jeff Teague and Mike Conley at this time.

Looking at the Northwest, Russell Westbrook is amazing and his tenacity at the PG for the Oklahoma City Thunder feels unrivaled. Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio is good but rarely healthy. Utah is still figuring out the floor general. And Denver’s Ty Lawson can’t stop getting in trouble with the law. The biggest threat for Teague out of the Northwest is Portland’s Damian Lillard.

It stinks that the Lillard-Aldridge duo is no more in the Rose City as LaMarcus Aldridge signed with the San Antonio Spurs this offseason. Though I love Dame’s free-spirited yet effective assists with the basketball, he is a glorified matador on defense. Jeff Teague is a constant threat to pickpocket opposing point guards and rebounds well for a one. Basketball is more than just offense and Jeff Teague is the more complete player over Damian Lillard heading into 2016.

And finally, where would Jeff Teague fit into the pecking order in the Pacific? All say it now, Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Los Angeles’ Chris Paul are better than Jeff Teague currently. I would say that Paul is a bit closer to Teague than Curry on the pecking order since Paul’s Clippers can’t seem to get out of the Western Semis. Plus, Jeff normally gives CP3 fits in Hawks-Clippers games. On a national landscape Paul appears better but Jeff Teague isn’t all that far off especially when you see these two teams in action.

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