Devin Harris and Jeff Teague both are quick, aggressive point guards who like to drive to the basket looking to score.
How is that going to work for the Hawks when those two play together, which is the plan for now? That's not to mention that neither Harris (6 feet 3) nor Teague (6-2) has the typical size for an NBA shooting guard.
Harris chuckles at the questions, having contemplated them himself when the Hawks acquired him from Utah last month. To predict how it can work, Harris looks at his past.
"I played with [6-2] Jason Terry in Dallas with a small backcourt," he said. "We played a similar type way, getting up and down the floor. I think it can work out the same way [with Teague]. Obviously he's one of the few remaining guys on the team that knows the system and knows it well. I think if we play together, it can be a good tandem."
The Hawks can only hope Harris-Teague works as well as Harris-Terry. In 2006-07, their one full year starting together, both had strong seasons while Dallas won 67 games.
Harris had the most efficient scoring season of his career that season with a "true" shooting percentage of 57.4 (taking into account 3-pointers and free throws). Harris averaged 14.6 points per 36 minutes.
Terry, whom the Hawks had traded to Dallas in 2004, posted a 58.7 true shooting percentage in 2006-07, the second-best mark of his career. He averaged 17.1 points per 36 minutes.
Evaluating the defensive abilities of individual players can be tricky but Harris and Terry appeared to work for the Mavs in 2006-07, despite a relative lack of size. Advanced statistics show that the Mavericks were much better defensively with Harris on the court and that his ability to defend shooting guards allowed Terry to effectively check point guards.
Harris said he and Terry had no issues over who would handle the ball.
"Whoever gets it pretty much goes and runs the break and the other guy sprints," Harris said. "If it was halfcourt sets, usually I brought the ball up. He's the better shooter of us two."
That's actually where the comparison between the Harris-Teague tandem and the Dallas Harris-Terry duo starts to break down. Harris and Terry complemented each other. Harris was the relentless attacker, Terry was the sharpshooter. With the Hawks, Harris and Teague both want to get to the basket off the dribble.
Neither Teague nor Harris have been exceptional perimeter shooters, though it's notable that each had strong seasons shooting 3-pointers in 2011-12. If Harris and Teague can reproduce another good year from the outside, then it's possible they could feed each other for spot-up jump shots as a major part of Atlanta's offense.
Or perhaps Teague and Harris can minimize the details of how they might mesh in the halfcourt by pushing a fast pace and being so disruptive on defense that it masks their relative lack of size. That's the vision laid out by new Hawks GM Danny Ferry after he traded Joe Johnson, who had elite size for a shooting guard, and added smaller guards to the roster.
"Our team is a lot smaller now, but a lot faster," Teague said. "We are going to have to get up and down the floor a lot more."
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