Over the offseason, the Minnesota Timberwolves signed veteran point guard Jeff Teague. This is the same offseason in which we saw the team trade away the beloved Ricky Rubio.
Many people raised the question as to why the Minnesota Timberwolves traded away Ricky Rubio, after trading for All-Star Jimmy Butler. The thought was that adding Butler caused some issues. Between him, Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns – there could be some ball sharing issues. We all know that Rubio was a pass-first point guard and that he could possibly be a better fit facilitating the ball.
However, the Wolves decided that he isn’t the solution going forward – trading him away, just a few short hours before the free agency period started. As soon as teams were able to sign players, Minnesota did not hesitate in signing Jeff Teague. A player who would not be described as a pass-first point guard, but instead, a scoring point guard.
So far this season, Teague has shown that it was smart to sign him and to trade away Rubio. There are a variety of things that Teague has given the Wolves, that Rubio just was not able to.
Offensive Efficiency
It comes as no surprise to any Wolves fan, or NBA fan for that matter, that Rubio was never able to find his shot. Here are two tables that compare both players when they shoot it from distance:
Jeff Teague:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Ricky Rubio:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
As you can see from the two tables – there is not one season since Rubio entered the league in which he has had a better 3-point percentage in a season. There is one season however in which Rubio does have a better percentage… but only by .02 percent – and Teague shot 1.2 more attempts. So, in that sense, there truly hasn’t been one season in which Rubio has been a better shooter.
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This season, Teague is shooting it from 3 a lot more efficiently. Rubio is averaging an ugly 29.8 percent, while his counterpart, Teague, is averaging a solid 39.5 percent. This is a major difference as it is 10 percent better, which has been a big thing for Minnesota to improve upon.
When Rubio was on the team, players practically left him open defensively and either stacked the paint, double-teamed Towns or Wiggins. This caused Minnesota to force up bad shots, turn the ball over, and of course resulted in Rubio shooting the ball.
Rubio may have a higher points per game total (14.8), than Teague (13.5) – but the Jazz don’t have as many options to score the ball. Yes, there is Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles, and Rodney Hood; but, they are not anything close to what Minnesota has in Butler, Wiggins, Towns, Crawford and others.
The Jazz need Rubio to take more shots and score the ball more – which is not ideal. Rubio is shooting the ball nearly one more field goal attempt per game than Teague. Rubio is shooting it 11.9 times per game, while Teague is averaging 11.1. As I stated before, Teague has a better field goal and three point percentage.
Because Teague was added this season, Minnesota is able to space the floor better and allow other players on the floor to have more room to work with on offense.
Assists
Who would of thought that Teague would have more assists than Rubio? Yes! it’s true, our scoring point guard has more assists than the pass-first Spaniard.
This season we are seeing Rubio only average 5.7 assists, which is a decrease in his average from his time in Minnesota (8.5). It does help that he is going from a team that mainly has only Rudy Gobert compared to a team of Wiggins and Towns.
Teague – is averaging an impressive 8.1 assists. This is his highest average he has had in his career, even if it is still early in the season. The 8.1 assists he is averaging ranks him as the 5th most in the entire NBA. Only LeBron James, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and John Wall have more. It does help that he is on a team full of talented players up and down the entire starting lineup.
It is still worth noting however that he is having better assist numbers.
Turnovers
Turnovers can hurt any team drastically… yes – even teams like the Warriors. Constantly giving up the ball allows the other team to get multiple chances to score the ball.
It’s a good thing that Minnesota’s point guard, Teague, is doing a good job protecting the ball. Even when he loses the ball, we have seen him many times go and get it right back.
Jeff Teague gives and takes pic.twitter.com/XH8kDss5yl
— A Wolf Among Wolves (@AWAWBlog) October 1, 2017
According to ESPN.com, Rubio is one of the worst players in terms of turning the ball over. He ranks 6th in the league with 4.2 a game. Though, Teague is 17th with 3.3 a game, it still isn’t as bad.
It doesn’t seem as though he gives it up about three times a game, but, if it’s any consolation, he has less per game than players like James, Westbrook, Harden, Kevin Durant, Wall, and many more talented players.
If Teague can continue the pace he’s at, or even decrease it a little bit; it would go a long way for this team.
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So far it appears Minnesota did the right thing and letting go of Rubio. Teague has filled his spot very nicely, and if he can continue to play the way he is, Minnesota will win more games because of him.