Jeff Teague Is Regaining His All-Star Form
By Ben Gibson
Jeff Teague is averaging 17.2 points and 9.8 assists in his last 10 games and the Indiana Pacers posted a 6-4 record during that time.
The Indiana Pacers are on a 4-game winning streak and Jeff Teague is most certainly looking the part of the pass-first ‘pure’ point guard that the team hoped they acquired when they traded George Hill this offseason.
After failing to post double-digit assists and only averaging 6.5 assists in the first 17 games of the season, he has done it nine times in the last 20 games, averaging nine a game over that span.
He is only getting better, too.
In the last 10 games, his averages are 17.2 points and 9.8 assists a game, nearly a double-double.
In the win over the Brooklyn Nets, he scored 21 points while handing out 15 assists.
Indiana’s offense is vastly improved, rising from 19th to 12th, moving them from 18th in net rating to 8th, literally turning a negative into a positive.
As SB Nation’s C. Cooper highlighted, the Pacers are trusting the pass, and in particular, Teague’s.
Updating some of the numbers from her post, Teague is making his teammates nearly 7% better shooters in the last 10 games according to the on/off numbers on NBA.com. He is near the top of the league in passing efficiency and points created off assists in this stretch.
It helps that now Monta Ellis isn’t sharing the court with Teague as a starter, a pairing that was neither of their faults but exposed both on the defensive end while stifling on them offensively. Now, Teague doesn’t have to share playmaking duties with anyone (thanks, Glenn Robinson III), allowing him to play the role of the pure point guard.
With a better fitting offense and growing chemistry built off the consistency of the current starting lineup, the Pacers have figured out how to make their offense better, allowing Teague to find the form that made him an all-star two seasons ago. The numbers aren’t exactly the same, but they are very similar to the ones that made him an All-Star in 2014-15.
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All of the coincides, perhaps not coincidently, with a four-game winning streak.
It may be four wins over four teams the Indiana Pacers should be able to beat, but Jeff Teague has the offense running efficiently as they approach a very winnable portion of their schedule.