Teague thankful for one-on-one meeting

Jeff Teague said he was thankful for the one-on-one meeting with coach Larry Drew a day before Friday’s Game 6 of the first-round playoff series against the Pacers.

“He said, ‘You are putting a lot of pressure on yourself. Don’t worry about it. Go out and have fun and whatever happens, happens,’” Teague said. “I looked at some of the film and every time I missed, I put my head down. I’m not having fun. (On Friday), I’m going to go and have fun and play hard, play with a lot of passion.”

The point guard averaged 14.o points and 5.6 assists in the first five games of the series.

Staying in the present: With the Hawks facing elimination, there was the possibility that Josh Smith could play his final game for Atlanta. The forward will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Smith would have none of such talk Friday.

“I’m not even thinking about that,” Smith said. “I’m just focusing on getting a win.”

Reduced role: DeShawn Stevenson is one of several players to have his minutes substantially reduced during the playoffs, with the team choosing to use fewer players.

The 13-year veteran played 25:02 and 19:01, respectively, in games 1 and 2. He has played just 1:01 in the three games before Friday night.

Stevenson said Friday that he would have been upset with the decreased time had it come during the regular season. However, he accepts the move as part of the postseason, especially with the success the Hawks have had when using a bigger lineup.

Stevenson, who won an NBA title with the Mavericks, was part of the Hawks’ regular rotation during the regular season. He averaged 5.1 points in 20.7 minutes. He has made 3 of 5 3-pointers during the playoffs, his only shot attempts.

Draft combine: Next on the Hawks' pre-draft list will be the NBA combine in Chicago on May 15-19.

Teams submit lists to the league with the names of players they would like to attend the camp. From those lists, 60 players will be invited to take part.

Teams can conduct interviews with a maximum of 18 players.

Hawks general manager Danny Ferry, assistant general manager Wes Wilcox and several other front-office members will attend.

The Hawks have four picks in the June draft, two first-round selections (Nos. 17 and 18) and two second-round selections (Nos. 47 and 50).