Jeff Teague stars as ‘The Closer.’
The current production, not yet in theatres, can been seen at a basketball arena near you. The Hawks’ point guard currently directs the top team in the Eastern Conference, and a big part of their success has been Teague’s fourth-quarter play.
Teague averages 6.1 fourth-quarter points, sixth in the NBA. Only Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving have better totals in the final period. Of Teague’s 565 points this season, 159 (28 percent) have come in the fourth quarter.
“Just being aggressive and trying to make plays,” Teague said before the Hawks left for Friday’s game at Detroit. “I don’t look at it like being a closer because Paul (Millsap) does so much in the fourth quarter. Al (Horford) does so much in the fourth quarter. But you’ve got to make plays. Coach puts the ball in my hands a lot in the fourth quarter, and I have to make plays.”
The latest example of Teague’s late-game heroics came in Wednesday’s 96-86 victory over the Grizzlies. Teague scored 11 fourth-quarter points, going 3-of-6 from the field, that included a back-breaking 3-pointer with 1:19 remaining. That performance came four days after he made back-to-back shots in the lane, 34 seconds apart, to lift the Hawks to a 115-107 win at the Trail Blazers on Saturday.
The Hawks are 27-8 with a 2 1/2-game lead in the Eastern Conference, as they have won 20 of their past 22 games, a remarkable run with a .909 winning percentage. They have won six consecutive games. They also own the best home record (15-3) in the conference and are tied for second in the NBA.
Coaches and players, including Teague himself, point to his maturation on and off the court as one of the reasons for the current position of the team.
“Honestly, (assistant coach) Kenny Atkinson and I talked about that a lot, me growing as a player to do it day in and day out,” Teague said of his consistent play. “That is something I struggled with in the past. I would have great games and come back and have really subpar games. That’s part of the NBA and it’s going to happen, but I’m trying to be consistent and get wins.”
Teague’s maturation also means Horford won’t get so many strange looks while on the training-room table.
“He is taking better care of his body,” Horford said. “He is one of those guys when he first got here he would look at us getting massages like we were aliens. Getting ice on our knees, he would think we were crazy. Now, he is embracing everything that being a pro is all about. …
“This summer I was talking to him. He said he had to be better conditioned, especially late in games. You can see it. That just doesn’t happen overnight. He’s been putting in the work.”
Teague scored a game-high 25 points Wednesday, a career-long sixth consecutive game with 20 or more points. Over those games, he is averaging 23.5 points, 7.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals.
Coach Mike Budenholzer said he has seen Teague’s confidence level grow over his short tenure with the Hawks. While the offensive numbers are nice, even those in the fourth quarter, Budenholzer stresses Teague’s play on defense. It’s no surprise given the coaches’ defensive mindset.
“The league has become such a point-guard league,” Budenholzer said. “When you look at what he is doing individually and what we are doing as a group against some of these better point guards, I think I’m encouraged as much or more at (the defensive) end of the court. I really do believe when you are working and active on that end, it transfers and helps you to be more active and aggressive on the other end.”
Consider the past three games, when the Hawks held top point guards Mike Conley (17 points), Chris Paul (10) and Lillard (16) in check.
Teague said he often would look back at games and thought he could have done more.
“You may not have attacked as much as you could have and you regret it, like, ‘I could have done so much more.’ I didn’t want to have that regret this year.”
