The Case for Jeff Teague as a 2015 NBA All-Star

The best player on a conference's best team deserves an All-Star nod, right?

Point guard Jeff Teague has been everything the 33-8 Atlanta Hawks could've asked for and more this season, leading his squad to the Eastern Conference's No. 1 slot and showing no signs of slowing down.

If only NBA fans paid attention.

Despite Teague's overall dominance, he didn't even crack the top 10 among East guards in All-Star voting, according to NBA.com's final ballot returns. Players like the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal and even one of his former backups, Louis Williams of the Toronto Raptors, all earned that distinction.

But somehow, Teague didn't.

Let's dive into why the underrated 26-year-old floor general easily deserves a spot in next month's NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden.

He's Been Brilliant Individually

Teague passes the eye test as an elite point guard. He's a solid athlete, but his body control and finishing ability are really what jump off of the page. Notice the below highlight from the Hawks' 100-91 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 28.

He plays the game with intelligence and control, rarely making the "What was he thinking?" type of play on either end of the court that sometimes plagues other point guards. He passes the ball well, especially in pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop situations.

While a subjective inspection of Teague's skill set reveals him to be better than most floor generals, measures of objectivity—such as statistics—are necessary to make his case as a first-time All-Star. 

And statistically, Teague matches up well with the best guards in his conference.

I pitted the 6'2" Wake Forest product against the 10 East backcourt players who received the most All-Star votes in nine different metrics: points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game in addition to true shooting percentage, player efficiency rating, win shares per 48 minutes and team winning percentage.

Each of the 11 players received a score from one to 11 in every category. For example, John Wall of the Washington Wizards leads the 11 guards in assists per game (10.0), so he gets the maximum score of 11 in that category. Meanwhile, the Raptors' Williams averages just 1.7 dimes per contest, which is the lowest number among the 11 players. Williams would get just a one in the assists category.

The results (linked to here) show Teague in a favorable light.

According to the statistical metric, not only has the Hawks point guard been one of the top backcourt players in the Eastern Conference—he's been the best. Teague just edged out Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls, while Wall and the Raptors' Kyle Lowry held the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively.

Teague also paces the Eastern Conference in win shares per 48 minutes (0.2206). If he holds onto his lead, it will be the first time since the 2007-08 season a player not named LeBron James is No. 1 in this statistic.

Teague may not be the best guard in the East right now. But as statistics show, he's at least near the top.

He Outplays Other East Point Guards

If Teague really is a star, he should be able to hold his own when he matches up with the big-name point guards in the Eastern Conference: Wall, Lowry, Kyrie Irving and Derrick Rose.

He does.

Check out the below table. While Teague is not nearly as strong a rebounder as his fellow star floor generals, he holds advantages in most of the other statistical categories.

	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Turnovers	Points Per Shot	Wins
Teague	19.5	3.4	9.4	2.7	3.4	1.30	4
Others	18.9	5.4	9.3	1.5	4.0	1.16	4

Teague doesn't just play well when the competition stiffens, though. According to 82games.com, his PER at the point guard position in all games is a stellar 23.1. On the defensive end of the court, his counterpart musters just a 14.8 PER. 

That differential of plus-8.3 ranks No. 3 among all Eastern Conference guards, behind the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade (plus-10.4) and Lowry (plus-8.6).

He Leads the Conference's Best Team

Let's get something straight: Teague has been the Hawks' best player this season.

Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver all have contributed to the team in various ways, and Atlanta employs an offensive system based on teamwork and passing, but Teague is still the catalyst who keeps everything operating smoothly. He also leads the team in scoring (17.4 per game) and assists (7.4) while registering the highest usage percentage (25.1) among Hawks starters.

Sam Forencich/Getty Images

Assuming NBA coaches also believe Teague has been Atlanta's best player, an All-Star snub for him would likely mark a first in league history. According to Basketball-Reference.com, no East team leading its conference at the midseason intermission has ever been without a representative in the All-Star Game. 

This dead horse has received more than its share of beatings, but it bears mentioning anyway: the Hawks' style of play is very similar to that of the wildly successful San Antonio Spurs. At the center of both teams' complex offenses are speedy, skilled point guards, Teague for the Hawks and Tony Parker for the Spurs. Hardwood Paroxysm's David Vertsberger went as far as calling Teague "the next Tony Parker."

Vertsberger is on to something. Take a look at the following two players' stat lines (per 36 minutes, unless otherwise indicated):

Player A: 22.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 0.588 true shooting percentage, 0.9 steals, 23.0 PER, 0.206 win shares per 48 minutes

Player B: 19.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 8.4 assists, 0.594 true shooting percentage, 2.1 steals, 23.1 PER, 0.221 win shares per 48 minutes

Player A is Tony Parker in 2012-13, his fifth All-Star campaign and arguably the best season of his career. Player B is Jeff Teague in 2014-15.

The Hawks floor general is posting numbers just as impressive as Parker's in the Frenchman's prime, but has yet to receive an invite to the league's most prestigious exhibition game.

It's Teague's time to gain that recognition.

Per NBA.com's Steve Aschburner, Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said the following about how the men on the sideline select the All-Stars: "As coaches, we all tend to, when things are close, we go to the teams that've won the most."

Considering Teague's Hawks have posted victories in 80.5 percent of their games, Coach Thibs' words should be reassuring.

Conclusion

Teague has one of the strongest cases for an All-Star spot out of all Eastern Conference guards. Barring an unexpected tidal wave of fan votes in the 11th hour, however, he won't start the game next month. If the final ballot returns are any indication, it will be Wall and Wade on the floor at tipoff.

But that's OK.

The Hawks' star point guard isn't overly flashy, but he's dangerous on both ends of the court. NBA coaches should know this, and I have full confidence they will act on that knowledge and vote him in as a reserve.

The real question is, how many of his teammates will join him in New York on Feb. 15?

Note: All statistics are from Basketball-Reference.com and updated through Jan. 19 unless otherwise indicated.

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