Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague finally broke out of his slump in Game 4 against the Washington Wizards, piling up 26 points and eight assists on Monday night. Not coincidentally, the Hawks enjoyed their finest offensive performance of the series in a 106-101 victory that tied up the series at two games apiece.
The Hawks finally got the Jeff Teague performance they needed
When Teague is as aggressive as he was in Game 4 against the Wizards, the Hawks are very difficult to beat.
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Teague had suffered through a brutal first three games of the series, which was all the more disappointing because of John Wall's injury. The Hawks point guard shot just 8-of-27 in Games 2 and 3, which wasn't acceptable with Ramon Sessions as his counterpart.
Luckily for Atlanta, Teague found his mojo in Game 4. It helped to get off to a good start. The point guard went 3-of-4 from the field in the first quarter, with all four shots coming in the paint. He made it a point to probe the defense, allowing the Hawks to control tempo and get eight fast-break points. Teague went just 1-of-6 in the second quarter, but all six shots were either in the paint or from three, and he also went to the line four times and dished out three assists. This was part of a 36-point quarter for Atlanta to take a 10-point lead into halftime.
Teague’s aggression continued into the second half. He came up big in the fourth quarter by scoring 10 points to help hold off Washington’s rally. Seven of Teague’s 10 shots in the second half came in the paint, and he attempted three more free throws and handed out three more assists.
When it was all said and done, Teague shot 9-of-20 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line, with the majority of his shot attempts coming in the paint:
This aggressive version of Teague is what makes the Hawks go. Nearly half of Teague’s shots came at the rim and 70 percent came in the paint. In the first three games, he took just 25 total shots in the paint:
Of course, the biggest shot of the game was Teague's long-distance bomb that put the Hawks up seven with 1:12 left. Atlanta nearly found a way to blow the game because Dennis Schroder tried to play hero ball and failed miserably, but Paul Pierce missed a wide open three and Atlanta held on.
Considering how important Teague is to the Hawks' attack, it comes as little surprise that he's shooting just 34 percent overall and 17 percent from three in Atlanta's four playoff losses. For the Hawks to make a run to the NBA Finals, Game 4 Teague needs to show up on a more consistent basis, especially if Wall remains out or comes back at less than 100 percent.
The next round could potentially feature another matchup against a banged-up point guard (Kyrie Irving), and Teague must exploit these matchups as much as possible. The Hawks' success depends on it.
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