Jeff Teague’s Style Should Fit Well With Paul George

Jeff Teague adds a dimension to the Indiana Pacers offense that could take Paul George to another level.

I love George Hill. He’s criminally underrated, but there is no denying that Jeff Teague adds a much-needed element to the Indiana Pacers offense. Teague’s ability to create for others is something the Pacers have been missing for years.

As our friend Colby Giacubeno over at Soaring Down South reminds us, Teague is the best point guard Paul George has played with.

"Overall, Teague is the most skilled point guard that superstar small forward Paul George will have played with since being drafted in 2010. Indiana is clearly motioning towards becoming an offensive-minded team rather than the tough, gritty defensive team that brought it night in and night out. That’s the blueprint that most NBA teams are following when forming their rosters.It’s also where the Pacers will miss Hill the most.In a league where there is no shortage for superstars in one particular position, Hill was a great option defensively to try and contain players like Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook. While Teague is no pushover defensively, his scoring mentality can sometimes make him lazy on the other end."

It is important to point out that Teague is the best point guard Paul George has played with, but maybe not the best guard.

Hill’s defense gives him a slight edge over Teague, but the offensive ability of Teague narrows the gap to the point where most rational fans can argue all day which is better without either side sounding like lunatics.

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Teague’s role is more of the traditional point guard, similar to ones like Goran Dragic, Ty Lawson (the good one, not the one we saw with the Pacers), John Wall, or Rafer “Skip to My Lou” Alston. George Hill’s stats put him closer to guards such as Mike Conley, World B. Free, or Mitch Richmond. Hill has a more rounded game, but Teague is more of a scorer and passer than we typically saw from the now former Hometown Hero.

Hill often ended up in guard limbo where he wasn’t supposed to take over full time as the point guard. Part of the blame goes to Hill’s DNA as a player, but former coach Frank Vogel is also responsible for green-lighting other players to take some of those responsibilities.

Hill was often splitting time with Lance Stephenson or Monta Ellis as the primary ball-handler and rarely was given the full-time job of being Aggressive George Hill™. Teague has never had that problem as last season he was the ball-handler 40.6% of the time compared to Hill’s 28.7% in that role according to Synergy.

Jeff Teague vs George Hill | PointAfter

Getting back to the idea of roles and why they matter, it worth nothing Hill actually passed the ball more times last season than Teague, but the type of passes the two were throwing matter more. Last season Teague passed the ball 4,066 times compared to 4,267 times for Hill. It wasn’t as if Hill was selfish, but he wasn’t making they kinds of passes that led to points.

It doesn’t really matter what season you look at as Teague has always had a style that is more ready to distribute the ball compared to Hill. Teague probes the defense more looking for weakness and to draw in a defender where Hill often was in a passive role.

Just looking at the 2015-16 season, Teague nearly doubled up Hill when it comes to the percentage of plays that are considered part of NBA’s adjusted assist percentage — plays that include standard assists, secondary assists, and passes that led to free throws.

For Teague, 15.5% of his plays ended up with points or free throws for the Hawks, where Hill only saw 8.3% of his fall under that umbrella. That translated to creating 5.8 more points a game for Teague’s teammates compared to what Hill did for the Pacers.

The Pacers exchanged Teague for Hill hoping that their new point guard will put Paul George in positions where he can score easy buckets. Instead of PG setting for some of those contested mid-range jumpers, perhaps Teague opens the door to him getting more than just of a third of his 2-pointers off assists. Things will only be better for Paul George and the Pacers if he can get over half of his made shots off assists.

If Paul George is throwing up less contested shots and making easier ones off Teague’s passes, then Larry Bird’s plan for this team has worked offensively.

Next: 3 Questions for the Pacers Coaching Staff and Front Office

The defensive questions still need answers, but the idea of Paul George working with more of a pure point guard is one reason to be excited about this new Indiana Pacers team.