Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Here Lies “Playoff Teague.” We hardly knew ye! R.I.P. 2011-2015.

Playoff Teague was on life support back in 2013, when his inability to find his way to the cup rendered him ineffective in the final four games against the third-seeded Pacers. Then, when all seemed lost, he found new life in 2014, terrorizing George Hill and Paul George while almost throwing top-seeded Indiana completely off their game. A full return to the guy who, in his first go-round as an accidental playoff starter in 2011, fearlessly went tit-for-tat with reigning MVP Derrick Rose is, alas, not to be.

It’s now 2015, Anno Dominique. And with the opportunity to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in Atlanta Hawks history there for the seizing, the team’s All-Star point guard has been faltering, as a scorer, a floor leader, and a defender, most recently against the likes of Ramon Sessions and Will Bynum in a pivotal Game 3 defeat.

Aside from his assist-making, Teague’s vital signs (35.9 FG%, 26.1 FG% and 11.1 3FG% in his last four games) are strikingly close to those from his 2013 postseason. Starting with Game 4 of the conference semifinal series, tonight in Washington against the reinvigorated Wizards (7:00 PM Eastern, TNT, 92.9 FM in ATL), the Atlanta Hawks have at least two more chances to make the revival of Playoff Teague either an irritating myth, or a triumphant Tale from the Crypt.

Most playoff pundits were not ready for Wizards head coach Randy Wittman outmaneuvering Dwane Casey and Toronto in the playoff’s opening round. What everyone was wholly unprepared for was Dandy Randy’s ability to outduel the reigning NBA Coach of the Year at the outset of the next series, particularly with his star point guard unavailable for most of these contests.

There’s one player who got up off the mat to take advantage of his opponent’s incapacitation, and that was not Jeff Teague. Instead it was Nene, encouraged by teammates and his coach to rediscover his post play in Game 3 (7-for-9 FGs), as the Hawks’ Paul Millsap proved unable to produce his own version of The Flu Game (2-for-6 FGs off the bench).

While Bradley Beal (8 assists, 5 TOs in Game 3) and Sessions (six assists, three TOs in Game 3) continue to adequately fill in the Wizards’ passing gaps with John Wall out of action, Pero Antić (0-for-4 FGs in 15 woeful minutes) was ill-equipped to step into the under-the-weather Millsap’s shoes as a rebounder, a help defender, and a defense-worthy perimeter threat.

An NBA “veteran” solely by virtue of tree rings, Antić got the starting nod ahead of Mike Scott and Mike Muscala (5-for-8 4^th-qaurter FGs), two frontcourt players who would later spark the Hawks’ dizzying comeback. Atlanta was led in the final frame led not by Playoff Teague, but by Dennis Schröder (16 points and four assists in the 4^th). Nine games into the postseason, Atlanta’s ability to turn things around with its bench corps was a welcome surprise on Saturday, its 17-0 fourth-quarter run bringing the game to a deadlock in the final seconds of the game.

Wittman knew he could turn in the clutch to Paul Pierce, the 37-year-old professional troll who’s wilier than any coyote, to put the team on his fake-injured shoulders. Meanwhile, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was indecisive about how best to guard Pierce, eventually selecting the relatively diminutive Schröder to D him up instead of the Hawks’ playoff MVP, DeMarre Carroll. As a result, it has been Coach Bud who is being questioned routinely about his coaching strategies, while the perpetually witless Wittman is left only to address concerns about the readiness of his starters.

Millsap insists he is feeling better and ready to return to the starting lineup for Game 4. Without an efficient power forward by his side, Al Horford seemed to go through the motions until it seemed to be too late in Game 3 (6-for-13 FGs, 10 rebounds, 4 assists). Horf insists this time he, and his trusty jumpshot, will be sweeter.

The Wizards forced a ton of well-defended jumpshots in Game 3 from the Hawks, who were 0-for-11 on the left side of the rim, below the elbow, beyond 10 feet (Washington went 5-for-11 on FGs in this area of the floor). Horford’s mid-range offense was virtually non-existent until the third quarter, and he and Pero allowed Marcin Gortat to enjoy a relaxing day along the baseline and around the rim (6-for-7 FGs and 3 blocks).

Kyle Korver (2-for-4 3FGs) could not muster a single shot attempt from the corners, and it’s Budenholzer and Teague’s task to get their prime three-point threat decent looks. Combining Teague’s struggles, Horford’s reticence, and Millsap’s illness, Korver (TOs on 37.5% of Game 3 plays) is darting through screens and coming up the court only to be met by a cavalcade of Wizard defenders.

At the other end, Korver’s and Carroll’s desire to overcompensate with interior help defense has left a ton of 3-point opportunities for Washington, and it’s a fortunate thing that Beal, Pierce, Otto Porter, and Sessions (combined 8-for-24 3FGs in Game 3) were unable to capitalize.

Teague knows that 5-for-9 shooting within five feet of the rim, and 0-for-6 shooting outside of that zone, would not get the job done against Jordan Crawford, nevermind Sessions or Wall. He also knows (or should know, by now) that composure is essential. The technical foul he drew by sniping at Beal after a vengeful foul wiped out the momentum the Hawks’ starting unit built in the third quarter to bring their self-imposed deficit back within single digits.

Now that Beal and “Lucky Shot” Pierce know they can get under the bristly skins of Teague and Schröder, they’ll do all they can in Game 4 to psychologically defuse the Hawks’ offensive gameplan. How will Atlanta’s point guards respond? Teetering between assertiveness and recklessness is a tricky balance, but it’s what a top-seeded NBA team needs out of its lead guards in order to wrest control of a playoff series back in its favor.

The Wizards aren’t the only team in town nudging a 1-seed toward the abyss. On the ice, the President’s Cup-winning New York Rangers found themselves in a conference semifinal hole, down 3-1 against the mid-tiered Washington Capitals, and needed two skin-of-their-teeth victories to force a Game 7 back home. On the hardwood, will the Hawks need to show similar gumption, or at least quash their weary road play to avoid the need for a Game 7 in Atlanta?

Despite the blistering comeback effort by the reserves, the Hawks did not deserve to win Game 3 of the series. Thanks in large part to the soul-crushing Pierce, they did not. Will Atlanta deserve to win this series at all? Now is the time to prove it, and time’s a wastin’. The dirt is still fresh and loose enough for a hand to rise from Playoff Teague’s grave.

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3