Atlanta Hawks: Summer spotlight singes Teague
Not time to panic about 'Rook. (AP Photo)
Las Vegas–One bad Summer League game, one quote about deferring to J.J. and Co., and suddenly it seems like Teague has gone from savior to suspect in the eyes of some Hawks fans.
He apparently took so much guff from fans on Twitter it prompted him to tweet: dont you hate people who cant play at all but have so much 2 say smh.” That came a couple hours after he had tweeted after he tweeted: “my bad yesterday didnt have a good one”
I guess his fans agreed with him in terms that were a little too strong for his taste. Note to Teague: If you don’t like to hear mess from fans, probably best to leave Twitter alone.
It’s only two games into summer league. No doubt Teague had a bad game Wednesday but it’s tough to judge him when he’s playing with this group, just like it was tough to judge him when he was playing sporadic minutes under Woody. Shouldn’t we hold off on making strong declarations either way?
Earlier in the week Teague said: “I am kind of looking at this like I’m a rookie.” I know what he meant but he’s not a rookie and circumstances outside of his control dictate that he and the Hawks can’t look it that way. They have to find out what they have with Teague, and fast.
“We have to,” L.D. said.
Nevertheless, the inescapable reality is that Teague is still a young player finding his way. Figuring out how he can best use his skills on a team full of guys who want the ball and how to be assertive when he’s the least accomplished Hawks starter will be a process. L.D. likened it to what Rondo went through in Boston when he was suddenly expected to run point for a veteran team looking to contend.
“I told him Rondo went through a similar situation,” Drew said. “Rondo was not a rah-rah guy. He went through a rookie period and then he had all these veterans thrown at him. Then he stepped out of the box, which is what I want [Teague] to do.”
Obviously there’s no need to panic about Teague after just a couple Vegas games. But there does seem to be a bit of a gap this week between what L.D. and Lester Conner are saying and what Teague is saying.
The coaches say this is a big week for Teague to show how he can lead the team; Teague downplays the games because he’s playing with NBA hopefuls instead of Atlanta’s vets. The coaches want Teague to direct traffic, with Conner going to far as to allow Teague to call his own plays at times; Teague said he might give the ball up to others and let them initiate the offense.
Part of the disconnect probably has to do with Teague’s personality, which Conner described as a “laid-back, cool mentality.” There were times when Teague’s relaxed approach riled Woody, who wanted him to be more serious.
L.D. wants the same. He said he’s on top of it.
“We change the environment, it will change him,” L.D. said. “That’s how I feel. That’s my job.”
It’s only July. Maybe if Teague looks good against Milwaukee tonight–he said he can’t wait to redeem himself–he will feel the love again.
MC
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229 comments Add your comment
Melvin
July 15th, 2010
9:41 pm
Glaydr doing his Manu impression….
Ray
July 15th, 2010
9:42 pm
It made have been a lucky shot, but it was a darn good one Najeh just saying.
Astro Joe
July 15th, 2010
9:43 pm
Doesn’t Hendrix have a contract to play in Europe next season?
Ray
July 15th, 2010
9:43 pm
oops mean to say it may have not made typo my bad.
cp
July 15th, 2010
9:43 pm
Strong 3rd quarter from Teague. He is fun to watch when he is aggressive like that
HoosierHawk
July 15th, 2010
9:44 pm
People also forget Jamal isnt bad at the point. Given he soots more than he facilitates, he logged a lot of PG minutes last year.
tyger
July 15th, 2010
9:45 pm
Shaq for Marvin by tommorrow. Damn, too much for Shaq!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
July 15th, 2010
9:46 pm
Teague has looked a lot better in this game, but JC2 has looked correspondingly worse than the last two games.
cp
July 15th, 2010
9:47 pm
I was critical of Luke Jackson earlier but he has had a solid game
Najeh Davenpoop
July 15th, 2010
9:47 pm
RT @CavsWITNESS: CLE radio reporting ATL radio reporting Shaq trade. ATL radio reporting CLE radio reporting Shaq trade 3 minutes ago via TweetDeck
Najeh Davenpoop
July 15th, 2010
9:49 pm
^^ That’s from MC’s twitter. Not sure whether it means something is happening or if they are just clowning on the radio stations.
cp
July 15th, 2010
9:50 pm
Davidson looks just like Wacka Flocka Flames
Melvin
July 15th, 2010
9:52 pm
Shaq to Atl trade rumors heating up….
northcyde
July 15th, 2010
9:52 pm
Teague . . . this is all people wanted to see. Just show some leadership and some aggression on both ends of the court. As long as you do that, you won’t hear many complaints from the fans. No more complaining or excuses. Just go out there and show people if you can ball or not.
Great 3rd qtr by JT
Ray
July 15th, 2010
9:56 pm
@Najeh Davenpoop that’s the thing JC2 was bound to have a terrible game, but this is a learning experience it doesn’t make or break either one of them now the others it does cause their hoping to get started in the NBA I’d say the Hawks might want to look into these guys playing in the summer league at least I’d hope so cause Sund missed out on the FA period it seems like.
cp
July 15th, 2010
9:56 pm
Are we at least gettign Moon back in the Shaq trade?
Fresh
July 15th, 2010
9:58 pm
SMGDH…Terrible Trade.
Fire Shaq!!
MannyT
July 15th, 2010
9:59 pm
I hope the trade is not true. Who is going to start @SF for us if we give up the only guy on the roster besides JJ that physically fits the job?
Najeh Davenpoop
July 15th, 2010
10:01 pm
“this is a learning experience it doesn’t make or break either one of them now the others it does cause their hoping to get started in the NBA”
Yeah I agree, but that’s why I really only care about how well Teague and JC2 do (and to a lesser extent Gladyr and Sy since their rights remain with the Hawks and they could join the team in the future). Even if Gilder or Aminu or someone like that makes the team, they are not going to play, so their performance here is really quite irrelevant. I’m not worried about JC2 — it’s not like he didn’t make any good plays today at all or something — but I’d like to see one game when both of them are on their game.
dstdeelite
July 15th, 2010
10:01 pm
JC2 is fearless. I love it!
Najeh Davenpoop
July 15th, 2010
10:02 pm
If the trade is true, the next step is to get Matt Barnes in here to play SF. Someone who can D up has to play SF for this team as long as LeBron is in the division. I’m happy with the trade though; clear some salary, boost ticket sales, unload an unproductive player with a long term contract, and make life easier on Josh and Al inside.
Melvin
July 15th, 2010
10:03 pm
I followed a tweet and it looks like Marvin maybe out of here…
cp
July 15th, 2010
10:05 pm
I dont like the trade either thats why I asked are we at least getting Moon back and a first rounder
MsDee
July 15th, 2010
10:08 pm
Calling all Teague Haters!!
cp
July 15th, 2010
10:09 pm
Barnes is about to sign with Boston or Miami. Crawford played a lot of pg tonight and lot Eric Snow said, he is better at the 2 because playing the point takes away his aggressiveness. Great game by Teague… Hendrix, Aminu, Davidson,Crawford, and Jackson all played well too.
mountain_jim
July 15th, 2010
10:10 pm
Giving Marvin for just FA Shaq would be a terrible trade
Najeh Davenpoop
July 15th, 2010
10:10 pm
“Im still persuaded that teague is not the point guard of atlanta’s future and id prefer giving Crawford that chance.”
Teague looked very good in today’s game. I really don’t mind either one taking over at point guard — although Teague looks more comfortable playing the point than JC2 — but as long as it’s not Bibby either one is fine with me.
Latrell
July 15th, 2010
10:10 pm
The only guys I would trade for Shaq are Zaza, Bibby, and Mo. You don’t trade young prospects for 38 year old retirees.
Ray
July 15th, 2010
10:11 pm
I hope ASG isn’t this stupid to pull off just a player swap cause if they did Cleveland would be robbing us blind.
While I understand people may want Marvin out of here still he’s worth more than how much they got with Josh C.
Still I think this trade is false I’m almost sure it is(I hope).
mountain_jim
July 15th, 2010
10:12 pm
from sqwuawk poster: Sekou said the hawks are not considering trading marvin for shaq.
Take it for what it’s worth
i_am_soulstar
July 15th, 2010
10:12 pm
Finally, we won one.
Jody
July 15th, 2010
10:12 pm
I don’t get why that trade is a horrible move. Anyways, I thought Teague regrouped very well tonight and Jordan Crawford continues to impress.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 15th, 2010
10:13 pm
Sean Williams had zero blocks in 14 minutes. Just saying…
cp
July 15th, 2010
10:13 pm
I’m not a Marvin fan but man we better be getting more than Shaq back in this trade. Something tells me if we get Shaq its going to blow up in our face. As soon as things don’t go his way the locker room is done.
Latrell
July 15th, 2010
10:13 pm
“Teague looked very good in today’s game. I really don’t mind either one taking over at point guard — although Teague looks more comfortable playing the point than JC2 — but as long as it’s not Bibby either one is fine with me.”
lol, Najeh. Do you really hate Bibby that much?
Ray
July 15th, 2010
10:14 pm
@Latrell I wouldn’t trade Zaza or Bibby away maybe Mo Evans, but then again I wouldn’t trade any of them.
Cause their Role Players and darn good ones too.
cp
July 15th, 2010
10:15 pm
Larry Sanders is going to be good for the Bucks. Dude plays hard the whole time he is on the court. He is going to be big for them this year.
JSS
July 15th, 2010
10:15 pm
@ Big Ray..
per 8:11PM, I promised to never mention the aforementioned UFA again… However, the even funnier clip is the one of his finish o entry pass from the previous game… I will not posted it per said agreemet. I get tired of being cursed from the Iberian Peninsula… No offense intended… How many fouls does RandMo have?
Fresh
July 15th, 2010
10:16 pm
Najeh,
Stop trying to makeup trade rumors SMH.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 15th, 2010
10:17 pm
“lol, Najeh. Do you really hate Bibby that much?”
I don’t hate Bibby. I’m still glad the Hawks got him for a few banana peels and some America Online CDs back in 2008 and he helped lift the Hawks to the playoffs. But he is done. There is one thing he does well now, and that’s shoot 3’s; and he doesn’t even do that well enough and consistently enough to warrant him being on the floor as a starter. The Hawks need a quicker, defensively better point guard who can drive inside and break down a defense. Bibby is best suited to being a shooter off the bench at this point in time.
Big Ray
July 15th, 2010
10:19 pm
Not bad. Defense earned a blowout. That, and Teague played with more poise and aggression.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 15th, 2010
10:19 pm
“Stop trying to makeup trade rumors SMH.”
What trade rumor did I make up? I just commented on the trade rumor that’s a) been going around for a few days and b) has been heating up in the last couple of hours. Wasn’t my idea.
OK
July 15th, 2010
10:19 pm
Any trade that doesn’t Involve eithe MO Evans or Mike Bibby is a COMPLETE FAILURE. Sund isn’t stupid enough to give Marvin away and still have Mo Evans on the roster is he?
If we trade for shaq he better use the MLE to get BOTH Richard Jefferson and Josh Howard…or Trey Gilder lol.
The Big Eclair doesnt deserve more than 5mill. Why would he want to come to a team that he just made weaker by coming over in a trade when he can be here without one? Maybe he doesn’t want to win again? What are his motives? He’s just MONEY HUNGRY!
Jermaine
July 15th, 2010
10:19 pm
What is the infatuation with Shaq all about? Seriously, how many teams have tried out the Shaq experiment before us and failed? Remember when the Suns reportedly picked up Shaq to guard the one big man they could never contain, Tim Duncan? What did that get them? A first round playoff defeat, and Duncan dominated Shaq anyway. After that, do you remember when the Cavaliers decided to pick up shaq in hopes to have an answer for dwight howard in the playoffs? Where did that get them? It led them to an even earlier playoff exit than when they didn’t have Shaq. I don’t know what the Hawks are thinking, but it’s plain as day to see what Shaq does not fit in well with the up-tempo style of play that the Hawks are going to be running. Also, on the defensive end, Shaq is a huge liability against the pick-and-roll and against mobile big men.
If he could come down to earth and realize that he is a role player at this stage of his career, I wouldn’t mind bringing him off the bench, but he’s got to be kidding thinking he deserves a starting role on this team.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 15th, 2010
10:22 pm
“how many teams have tried out the Shaq experiment before us and failed?”
Three of Shaq’s teams made the NBA finals with him, two of them won, and another one won 60 games in the regular season with him. The only team on which he could be considered a “failure” was Phoenix, and that team wasn’t going to make the Finals starting two of the league’s worst defensive players anyway. Say what you want about his ego, but very little in his career can be characterized as “failing”.
ignition
July 15th, 2010
10:22 pm
Glad to see the Teague came back strong..
I’m am a little concerned however, cause Teague used to pull disappearing acts in college at Wake like in the tournament. When Teague was focused he was unstoppable but he suffered from mental laspes in some games. Rondo was like that at Kentucky so I only hope Teague has that kind of development and be just as consistent.
Big Ray
July 15th, 2010
10:23 pm
Truth Serum ,
If we’re going to go bare minimum, we may as well latch onto a project like Siler….
As for Teague, we really don’t know if he is or isn’t our pg of the future. We’ll find out, though. Jordan Crawford is less comfortable playing the PG position, but it’s foolish for anybody to think he won’t get a shot at it. He has here in the summer league, and his performance will be gauged in both training camp and preseason. We’ll see what happens. But the onus is on Teague. Perform or get ready for another 9 mpg season….
Fresh
July 15th, 2010
10:23 pm
OK,
Good post. My point exactly. Why trade one of your young starters for Shaq, when all you do is create another hole at another position? Simply sign Shaq outright and let’s move on with our summer.
PD
July 15th, 2010
10:24 pm
Go Teague
MsDee
July 15th, 2010
10:25 pm
Jermaine,
That’s when Shaq had nothing to prove. But now that both LeBron and Wade are both on the same team w/o him, he will want to prove to them and the last 3 teams he played on that he still can control the paint and that’s basically all we would need from him. And if he feels he could start with that mentally, than sign him up. If he doesnt perform, bench him for Zaza.