Recently signed to a three-year $57 million deal this offseason; Jeff Teague looks to be the man at point guard Minnesota has seemed to lack over the years.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have struggled to find their guy at point guard for years now. Johnny Flynn, Ricky Rubio, Sebastian Telfair, Kris Dunn and many more have seemed to fly out the door. Of course we all know Rubio stayed in Minnesota for six years, however, it was never a smooth ride. Throughout the years, he was bombarded with a series of ups and downs.
Jeff Teague hopes to come in and play big minutes with the chance of giving Minnesota some big wins. He’s been a successful player in his eight-year career. He made the All-Star team back in 2015 and has never missed the playoffs in his career.
At 29-years old, he is still capable of another All-Star appearance, if not a high level of play. There is undoubtedly a lot of talent in Minnesota with the likes of Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Andrew Wiggins. The hope is Teague will play like he has his whole career, or even better with all the talent surrounding him.
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Here’s a look at the best and worst case scenario this upcoming season for the point guard out of Wake Forest.
Best Case Scenario:
Best case scenario is Teague making the All-Star game. The Western Conference is loaded with talent this year that it seems unlikely he would make the team… but we can only dream. Some names include Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard and Mike Conley.
If he can’t make the team, hopefully, he can put up All-Star numbers. Before looking at what he can possibly put up, first we need to look at what he’s done over the course of his career.
| Season | Age | Tm | Lg | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | 21 | ATL | NBA | PG | 71 | 3 | 10.1 | 1.3 | 3.2 | .396 | 0.1 | 0.5 | .219 | 1.2 | 2.7 | .426 | .412 | 0.6 | 0.7 | .837 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 3.2 |
| 2010-11 | 22 | ATL | NBA | PG | 70 | 7 | 13.8 | 1.9 | 4.3 | .438 | 0.3 | 0.7 | .375 | 1.6 | 3.7 | .449 | .467 | 1.1 | 1.4 | .794 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 5.2 |
| 2011-12 | 23 | ATL | NBA | PG | 66 | 66 | 33.1 | 4.8 | 10.2 | .476 | 0.8 | 2.3 | .342 | 4.1 | 7.9 | .514 | .514 | 2.1 | 2.8 | .757 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 4.9 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 12.6 |
| 2012-13 | 24 | ATL | NBA | PG | 80 | 78 | 32.9 | 5.5 | 12.2 | .451 | 1.1 | 3.1 | .359 | 4.4 | 9.1 | .482 | .496 | 2.5 | 2.8 | .881 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 7.2 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 14.6 |
| 2013-14 | 25 | ATL | NBA | PG | 79 | 79 | 32.2 | 5.8 | 13.2 | .438 | 0.9 | 2.8 | .329 | 4.8 | 10.3 | .469 | .474 | 4.0 | 4.8 | .846 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 6.7 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 16.5 |
| 2014-15 | 26 | ATL | NBA | PG | 73 | 72 | 30.5 | 5.6 | 12.2 | .460 | 1.0 | 2.8 | .343 | 4.6 | 9.3 | .496 | .500 | 3.8 | 4.4 | .862 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 7.0 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 15.9 |
| 2015-16 | 27 | ATL | NBA | PG | 79 | 78 | 28.5 | 5.5 | 12.5 | .439 | 1.4 | 3.5 | .400 | 4.1 | 9.0 | .454 | .495 | 3.3 | 3.9 | .837 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 5.9 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 15.7 |
| 2016-17 | 28 | IND | NBA | PG | 82 | 82 | 32.4 | 4.9 | 11.1 | .442 | 1.1 | 3.1 | .357 | 3.8 | 8.0 | .475 | .492 | 4.4 | 5.1 | .867 | 0.4 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 7.8 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 15.3 |
| Career | NBA | 600 | 465 | 27.0 | 4.5 | 10.0 | .447 | 0.9 | 2.4 | .355 | 3.6 | 7.6 | .476 | .489 | 2.8 | 3.3 | .844 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 5.5 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 12.6 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
He averaged 12.6 points per game, however, over the past five seasons or so he has hovered around that 15-point mark. He certainly is capable of scoring 15 a night, and I believe he can do that again this year. Sadly, I don’t think he will due to the fact that Minnesota does have a levy of talent on the roster this season.
If he does continue to score 15 a night, then someone in the starting lineup will likely see their points total decrease.
Teague is traditionally a score first point guard compared to Rubio. Ultimately, this season we might be seeing a different style of play from him. This could be the year where he takes the back seat and plays a pass first type of game. He may have to with three other guys in the starting lineup demanding for the ball. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however.
Throughout his career, Teague has averaged 5.5 assists. In the past few seasons, we have seen him hover around that six-seven assist mark. In fact, last season he averaged a career high 7.8 assist with the Indiana Pacers. The Wolves’ certainly have a better team on paper than the Pacers did last season. Could this mean that we will see an increase in assists this season?
Best case scenario is having Teague average nine-ten assists while scoring close to 12 points a game. To go along with those offensive stats, it would be ideal if he averages over one steal a game, with lockdown defense. I believe Teague will average nine-ten assists a game this season, and continue to play big minutes.
Worst Case Scenario:
The worst case scenario is to see Teague under-perform how Rubio plays. Whether that be Rubio’s play in Utah or his previous seasons in Minnesota. There was a few ripples around the NBA world as to why Minnesota chose to spend an extra $3 million per season for Teague when Rubio might have been a better fit. No one will know whether or not it was a good idea until the season unwinds.
Not only was it a little weird spending extra money for Teague, but, you only received a protected first round pick this upcoming draft. For a player of Rubio’s caliber, you would almost think that he is worth more than just a protected first rounder.
All of this into consideration, it would be bad to see Teague underperform what Rubio does. Especially considering money and receiving a small value back for Rubio. I don’t think Teague will struggle this season, in fact, I think he has his best season yet considering what Minnesota has surrounded him with.
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Let’s hope for the best case scenario this season, and the next couple as long as he is representing the state of Minnesota.