Pick And Roll anybody.

[Diesel]

Teague played nothing like Chris Paul at Wake. He was a Shooting Guard.

He was a shooting guard who converted to a PG and became an All-American as a PG.

Do you guys really not know who we drafted??

Player A.

Was one of the top scoring point guards in the nation ... Lightning quick first step allowed him to blow by defenders ... Could also spot up for a medium to long-range jumper when needed ... Excellent defender who was among the ACC leaders in steals each of his two seasons ... Named All-America by the NABC (2nd team), the Sporting News (2nd), the USBWA (2nd), FoxSports.com (3rd) and the Associated Press (Honorable Mention) ... Selected as a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, the Wooden Award and the Oscar Robertson Trophy ... Chosen as a mid-season candidate for the Naismith Trophy and named first team NABC All-District ... Second team All-ACC pick by ACSMA, finishing just three points shy of earning first team honors ... Named ACC Player of the Week twice, winning the awards in back-to-back weeks on Jan. 12 and Jan. 19 ... Named to the All-Tournament Team at the 76 Classic after leading Wake to the championship ... Scored his 1,000th career point against Cleveland State, ending the year with exactly 1,000 career points ... Became the 45th player to join Wake Forest's 1,000 Point Club ... Led the team in scoring with 18.8 points per game ... Also led the Deacons in assists (110), steals (58), three-point percentage (44.1 percent), free throw percentage (81.7 percent) and minutes played (32.0 mpg)

Player B.

broke a number of Wake Forest freshman records... possesses all the tools of a great point guard... extremely quick... .. shoots well from behind the three-point arc .. is at his best on the fastbreak or when driving to the basket... went to the free throw line more often than any Deacon player last season... also solid on the defensive end, earning ACC All-Defensive Team honors last season... an outstanding student with an eye on Academic All-America honors... a natural leader who should be more comfortable in that role this season

Which one did we draft?

[NBASupes]

He was a shooting guard who converted to a PG and became an All-American as a PG.

Do you guys really not know who we drafted??

Player A.

Player B.

Which one did we draft?

Situational Statistics: This Year's Shooting Guard Crop

•Jeff Teague's virtues as a volume shot-creator are incredibly obvious from his situational statistics.

Amongst the group we examined, Teague had a very high usage rate, but was only slight above average in terms of efficiency at .95 PPP. From a broad perspective, that’s a pretty good characterization of his mentality as a scorer, but is doesn’t do justice to how unique he is on the offensive end.

Teague is exceptionally good at getting to the rim, posting an average of 7.8 finishing attempts per game (3rd best), which is quite impressive. Considering his size, it isn’t a big surprise that he sits only slight above average at 1.12 PPP on those attempts. Moving forward, Teague may be able to seamlessly account for his lack of efficiency at the rim with his tremendous pull up jumper. He took 5.3 jumpers off the dribble per game last season, and posted .94 PPP, well above the average of .81 PPP.

Unfortunately, his merit off the dribble doesn’t translate to catch and shoot situations, as he ranks below average at 1.12 PPP on unguarded spot up jumpers, which wasn’t a huge issue for him at Wake Forest since he only took 1.2 catch and shoot jumpers per game overall. He ranks last in Pos/G in that category, and he will have to improve his ability to use those situations on the next level considering his size. Teague is very unique in this aspect, as you don’t see many players who shoot such a large percentage of their jumpers off the dribble.

Teague more than compensates for his limitations with his excellent shot creating ability. He gets out in transition more than any player in the draft at 6.1 Pos/G, and while his 1.01 PPP is a strong indication of his shaky decision-making skills, his speed makes him a great threat to get to the line. The same holds true when you consider how well he scores when he puts the ball on the floor. Few players in this draft are as quick and instinctive off the dribble. Teague’s FG percentage of 51.3% when he drives right is extremely impressive, and his 39.4% going left is above average too. Not only do those drives result in made baskets, but Teague gets fouled on 16.6% of his possessions, easily the most amongst twos.

Teague is an excellent scorer with the ball in his hands, but doesn’t look great on the pick and roll or shooting off of screens, two things he may have to work on when taller and quicker defenders take away some of his driving lanes. He’s not a terribly efficient or fundamentally sound player overall, but with the direction the NBA is heading in, Teague is going to be extremely difficult to defend without fouling on the perimeter (thinkAaron BrooksorLouis Williams), which makes him a coveted option in this draft, particularly for teams who lack that type of scoring punch off the bench.

From DraftExpress.comhttp://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz2XLa5kHAK

http://www.draftexpress.com

It’s been quite a rollercoaster ride forJeff Teaguesince his last write-up nearly three months ago. After wins versus North Carolina and at Boston College and Clemson, complete with huge scoring barrages from his end, there was plenty of talk that Teaguemight run away with ACC player of the year honors, and find himself as a top-5 draft pick. Things haven’t quite worked out that way, though, as he hasn’t managed to be anywhere near as productive since moving off the ball almost full time once undersized point guard Ish Smith fully recovered from his injury, which happened to correspond with Wake Forest losing 7 of their last 15 games, and flaming out of the NCAA tournament in the first round in blowout fashion to #13 seed Cleveland State. Teague fully exposed all of his weaknesses over that stretch, but also continued to show the same tantalizing scoring potential that got so many NBA teams excited to begin with.

Teague is still the same phenomenal athlete he was when we last wrote about him, showing an amazing first step and a real knack for creating his own shot going equally well left or right. He gets to the free throw line at an excellent rate, and shoots 44% from beyond the 3-point line, which is a pretty impressive combination. Generally speaking, you won’t find many more talented scorers anywhere in college basketball, even if he still has plenty to work on.

Teague’s shooting ability is very unorthodox, as 77% of his jump-shots come on off the dribble attempts, according to Synergy Sports Technology. Despite his strong percentages, it must be noted that he only attempted around three 3-point shots per game, which leaves a lot to be desired. What’s odd is that he seems to struggle quite a bit in pure catch and shoot opportunities, as he cocks the ball below his waist as sports plenty of wasted shooting motion, which in turn slows down his release. When shooting off the dribble, though, Teague’s shot looks very fluid and compact, and he actually converts at a similar rate. This is clearly something teams will want to look more closely at in private workouts, should Teague decide to enter the draft.

Playing off the ball for most of the second half of the season didn’t seem to suit Teague’s style of play very well, as he’s clearly the type of player who needs the ball in his hands in order to be successful, as you can begin to understand by the way he his shooting mechanics developed. Teague is a clear-cut feast or famine type player, who tends to be either absolutely spectacular or completely awful on any given possession, and very rarely anywhere in between. As advanced a scorer as he is, he shows incredibly poor decision making skills at times, giving up his dribble mid-way through a possession, jumping in the air aimlessly before deciding what to do next, forcing terrible shots early in the shot-clock, and trying to squeeze incredibly difficult passes in between multiple defenders. Teague is far too careless with the ball, which makes him extremely turnover prone, as he coughs up the ball on 1/5th of his possessions.

As he gains more experience (he is after all, a late-bloomer who nearly committed to Southern Illinois in high school), Teague will likely improve on his decision making and hopefully his just-average basketball IQ. Considering his shoot-first, second and third mentality, though, and his 1/1 assist to turnover ratio, it’s tough to ever see him developing into a “true point guard.” He’s capable of finding the open man from time to time, for example on drive and dish and simple pick and roll plays, but his court vision is underdeveloped and it’s pretty clear that he’s not very comfortable running a half-court offense.

What Teague does possess, with his ability to create offense in the blink of an eye, is an incredibly valuable skill in today’s NBA. With the way the game is called these days, he will be virtually impossible to keep out of the paint and on the free throw line, especially if he can find a way to get a lot stronger than he currently is. As athletic as Teague is, he’s not a great finisher around the rim at all already at the college level, as he tends to struggle with contact due to his underdeveloped frame.

Defensively, Teague has all the tools to be effective, but he isn’t by any stretch of the imagination. His fundamentals are poor, as he tends to get out of his stance quickly and fall asleep off the ball. At times he’ll display some good energy and do a nice job contesting shots and staying in front of his man, but he seems to get bored quickly and will not always put much of a fight in, particularly when being posted up or forced to fight through screens.

The biggest question mark surrounding Teague will be whether or not he decides to enter the draft. Hemade some commentsa few weeks back indicating that he may return for his junior season, but recentlyseems to have hedgedon that issue. There is no question that Teague is a fairly raw prospect who could clearly benefit from another season of experience playing the point guard position full time, as well as in the weight room. The problem is he’d be running a big risk coming back and possibly seeing his draft stock drop, especially since Ish Smith (a starter since his freshman season) will still be around for his senior season. It will be a tough decision either way for Teague, and he’s clearly already under a lot of pressure from Wake Forest’s coaching staff.

From DraftExpress.comhttp://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz2XLagokvH

http://www.draftexpress.com

[Diesel]

Now. Compare your predraft Teague prediction to the Teague we have today. He has improved tremendously. His main problem coming out was A/TO. It has improved by 1.4. His AST% is up to 36.1. He is much better and much improved in an offense that is not a PG driven offense. 7.2 assist in a non-PG led offense.

[ATLHawks3]

My hesitation with Larkin is of course... His size. If he was bigger and stronger, I think he's the best PG out of this draft. However, he's not. He may eek out a Nate Robinson like career.

Burke might be the best thinker (chess playing PG) in this draft, but his perimeter shooting will have to catch up with everything else for him to be right with us.

I would like to see this guy from Germany. Has good size and good reviews. Schröder... He might be a steal late. I know Ferry knows about him.

He does have size. He has a 6'7 wingspan. The only knock on him is his weight, as he only weighs 168. Plus, I think he's gone before we have the chance to pick at 17 tommorrow.

[GameTime]

He was a shooting guard who converted to a PG and became an All-American as a PG.

Do you guys really not know who we drafted??

I thought Ish Smith was PG?

Now. Compare your predraft Teague prediction to the Teague we have today. He has improved tremendously. His main problem coming out was A/TO. It has improved by 1.4. His AST% is up to 36.1. He is much better and much improved in an offense that is not a PG driven offense. 7.2 assist in a non-PG led offense.

Teague has definitely improved being a PG. I agree.

[NBASupes]

Now. Compare your predraft Teague prediction to the Teague we have today. He has improved tremendously. His main problem coming out was A/TO. It has improved by 1.4. His AST% is up to 36.1. He is much better and much improved in an offense that is not a PG driven offense. 7.2 assist in a non-PG led offense.

He has improved greatly since then. He went from someone who couldn't make two decent passes in a row to someone who can play PG and not be a total liability which he was out of the draft. The problem is simple. While he has improved greatly, has he gotten good at PG? No, his PG skills are terrible but at least can play the position without being a liability.

Assists are a blanket stat. It doesn't make someone a great passer or not. See others like Jeff in terms of PG skills like Rose and Westbrook. Their assists totals are in the elite of the NBA. Does that mean they are great passer. No, in fact they are some of the worst. Our offense is extremely PG friendly. Offenses like Memphis are the offenses that aren't PG friendly.

Edited June 26, 2013 by Leadership

[DrReality]

I hope the new coaching staff can take Teague to the next level. Don't think Drew could do that. And the extent to which he's improved is a good sign.

[NBASupes]

I hope the new coaching staff can take Teague to the next level. Don't think Drew could do that. And the extent to which he's improved is a good sign.

If there is a coaching staff who can do that. That's the greatest coaching staff in the NBA. Maybe they can make Marvin play like James Worthy.

[ATLHawks3]

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/mark-bradley/2013/jun/26/shane-larkin-hawk-itd-be-fine-me/

Shane Larkin as a Hawk? It'd be fine with me

[*]

COMMENT(11)

[*] 1 22 41 135

David J. Phillip

Shane Larkin, playing bigger than he is.

Previous Posts

[*]Six days later, another Game 6 leaves us awed
June 25, 2013 [*]If Chris Paul isn't an option, where do Hawks turn?
June 24, 2013 [*]Has the Spurs' best chance come and gone?
June 20, 2013

By Mark Bradley

One of the reasons the Atlanta Hawks didn’t draft Chris Paul in 2005 was that Billy Knight, then the general manager, wasn’t fond of little guards. (Another reason was that Marvin Williams scarcely missed a shot during his private workout here, and Williams was of a body type Knight famously did like.) In this but little else, I tended to agree with Knight. I’m not crazy about little guards, either.

But I’m willing to make an exception.

To me, the most intriguing player in the 2013 draft is Shane Larkin. He’s 5-foot-11, which isn’t just small by NBA standards – it’s tiny. But he’s a skilled point guard who led the Miami Hurricanes to both the ACC regular-season and tournament championships, and if he hadn’t caught the flu the night before Miami played Marquette in the NCAA Round of 16 the ’Canes might well have crashed the Final Four.

Not that collegiate achievement means much when projecting a professional career. (If it did, Tyler Hansbrough would be Karl Malone.) Still, Larkin does everything you’d want a point guard to do – he drives and passes; he’s not afraid to take and make big shots, and he defends with a purpose. (Granted, a little man will always be a defensive liability of some sort.)

He’s also a tremendous leaper – his vertical jump was measured at an outrageous 44 inches at the draft combine – and a tremendous leader. He was the sophomore who held together a team consisting mostly of seniors, which shouldn’t have been surprising. Larkin is the son of Barry Larkin, who made the baseball Hall of Fame because he was both a superb shortstop and an inspirational figure for the Cincinnati Reds.

If we go by general manager Danny Ferry’s stated aim for his new Hawks – he wants players who’ll play smart and play together – Larkin absolutely fits. If we go by NBAdraft.net’s latest mock, Larkin could be available when the Hawks exercise the 17^th and 18^th picks of Round 1 on Thursday. (If we go by Chad Ford's mock on ESPN Insider, Larkin would be gone.)

This assumes the Hawks keep the 17th and 18th picks. Word has it that they’re looking to move up, and if they do it won’t be to grab a 5-11 guard. Still, Larkin would be a splendid addition to a roster that isn’t overflowing with bodies, and I do note that some little guards have done rather well in this big man’s league.

One was Spud Webb (5-7), of whom Hawks fans have fond memories. Another is Paul (6-foot), over whose non-drafting Hawks fans are still gnashing their teeth. A third is Tony Parker (6-2), who has become the best player on the team Ferry and new coach Mike Budenholzer hold as a model. So there’s that.

[Diesel]

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/mark-bradley/2013/jun/26/shane-larkin-hawk-itd-be-fine-me/

Shane Larkin as a Hawk? It'd be fine with me

[*]

COMMENT(11)

[*] 1 22 41 135

David J. Phillip

Shane Larkin, playing bigger than he is.

Previous Posts

[*]Six days later, another Game 6 leaves us awed

June 25, 2013

[*]If Chris Paul isn't an option, where do Hawks turn?

June 24, 2013

[*]Has the Spurs' best chance come and gone?

June 20, 2013

By Mark Bradley

One of the reasons the Atlanta Hawks didn’t draft Chris Paul in 2005 was that Billy Knight, then the general manager, wasn’t fond of little guards. (Another reason was that Marvin Williams scarcely missed a shot during his private workout here, and Williams was of a body type Knight famously did like.) In this but little else, I tended to agree with Knight. I’m not crazy about little guards, either.

But I’m willing to make an exception.

To me, the most intriguing player in the 2013 draft is Shane Larkin. He’s 5-foot-11, which isn’t just small by NBA standards – it’s tiny. But he’s a skilled point guard who led the Miami Hurricanes to both the ACC regular-season and tournament championships, and if he hadn’t caught the flu the night before Miami played Marquette in the NCAA Round of 16 the ’Canes might well have crashed the Final Four.

Not that collegiate achievement means much when projecting a professional career. (If it did, Tyler Hansbrough would be Karl Malone.) Still, Larkin does everything you’d want a point guard to do – he drives and passes; he’s not afraid to take and make big shots, and he defends with a purpose. (Granted, a little man will always be a defensive liability of some sort.)

He’s also a tremendous leaper – his vertical jump was measured at an outrageous 44 inches at the draft combine – and a tremendous leader. He was the sophomore who held together a team consisting mostly of seniors, which shouldn’t have been surprising. Larkin is the son of Barry Larkin, who made the baseball Hall of Fame because he was both a superb shortstop and an inspirational figure for the Cincinnati Reds.

If we go by general manager Danny Ferry’s stated aim for his new Hawks – he wants players who’ll play smart and play together – Larkin absolutely fits. If we go by NBAdraft.net’s latest mock, Larkin could be available when the Hawks exercise the 17^th and 18^th picks of Round 1 on Thursday. (If we go by Chad Ford's mock on ESPN Insider, Larkin would be gone.)

This assumes the Hawks keep the 17th and 18th picks. Word has it that they’re looking to move up, and if they do it won’t be to grab a 5-11 guard. Still, Larkin would be a splendid addition to a roster that isn’t overflowing with bodies, and I do note that some little guards have done rather well in this big man’s league.

One was Spud Webb (5-7), of whom Hawks fans have fond memories. Another is Paul (6-foot), over whose non-drafting Hawks fans are still gnashing their teeth. A third is Tony Parker (6-2), who has become the best player on the team Ferry and new coach Mike Budenholzer hold as a model. So there’s that.

Before you go to far with this Chris Paul comparison, we need to come clean on BK. BK had unusal fondness for Marvin. Let's be clear, even if he thought that Paul was too small, there was still Deron Williams and Raymond Felton.

[AHF]

BK had way too much Marvin love but it actually wasn't unusual. There were a lot of people who raved about Marvin as the best prospect in the entire draft that year. I remember banging my head over the talking heads who predicted Marvin would be the best player in the draft and had Paul/Deron at #3/4 at best and then beat the Hawks up for years after it became clear that BK was wrong (as were the people leveling the criticism like Chad "Darko and Marvin are the best prospects in their draft classes" Ford.

[NBASupes]

BK had way too much Marvin love but it actually wasn't unusual. There were a lot of people who raved about Marvin as the best prospect in the entire draft that year. I remember banging my head over the talking heads who predicted Marvin would be the best player in the draft and had Paul/Deron at #3/4 at best and then beat the Hawks up for years after it became clear that BK was wrong (as were the people leveling the criticism like Chad "Darko and Marvin are the best prospects in their draft classes" Ford.

The media and Marvin's workouts are what did it. Marvin was never better or as good as CP3 or Deron. He was always a decent player with great physical tools but his mindset wasn't strong. With that said, barring injuries, Marvin could have been a pretty good player even for us but injuries and him never going to be CP3 or Deron killed him.

It's always hard to rate true PG's in the NBA draft. They are never as talented as guys like Rose, Wall or Westbrook and they are usually much more effective in the NBA than in college even if they were elite in college.

Edited June 27, 2013 by Leadership

[AHF]

The media and Marvin's workouts are what did it. Marvin was never better or as good as CP3 or Deron. He was always a decent player with great physical tools but his mindset wasn't strong. With that said, barring injuries, Marvin could have been a pretty good player even for us but injuries and him never going to be CP3 or Deron killed him.

It's always hard to rate true PG's in the NBA draft. They are never as talented as guys like Rose, Wall or Westbrook and they are usually much more effective in the NBA than in college even if they were elite in college.

True - especially given how rare it is that a PG is the best player on a championship team. Magic was the size of a forward and then that pretty much leaves you with Isiah Thomas and at least an argument for Tony Parker one year. Most of the time, you see someone other than a PG: Kareem, Moses, Bird, Jordan, Shaq, Hakeem, Lebron, Timmy, etc. and a lot of the great PGs go without championships (at least with them as the best player) like Stockton, Paul, Kidd, Rose, etc. who came or have come up short (so to speak).

[Diesel]

The media and Marvin's workouts are what did it. Marvin was never better or as good as CP3 or Deron. He was always a decent player with great physical tools but his mindset wasn't strong. With that said, barring injuries, Marvin could have been a pretty good player even for us but injuries and him never going to be CP3 or Deron killed him.

It's always hard to rate true PG's in the NBA draft. They are never as talented as guys like Rose, Wall or Westbrook and they are usually much more effective in the NBA than in college even if they were elite in college.

Nope. Marvin had a terrible workout with us. He came in out of shape and was winded in several of the drills. CP3 had a great workout though.

[benhillboy]

I would like to see this guy from Germany. Has good size and good reviews. Schröder... He might be a steal late. I know Ferry knows about him.

You called it. The international guys were gushing all over him. With his strengths being the PNR and defensive efficiency, he's pretty much the Anti-Teague. I'm anxious to see him.