Atlanta Hawks: 5 Predictions for the 2015-2016 Season

Sep 28, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) talks to the media during media day at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Jeff Teague will become the leading scorer

The last two seasons have seen Paul Millsap become the Hawks scoring king. Last season he averaged 16.7 points per game and the previous season he averaged 17.9 points per game. He did that last season with the third highest usage rate on the team at 23.8 percent. The highest usage rate went to Dennis Schroder in a smaller sample and Jeff Teague had the second highest usage rate at 25.3 percent.

Given that he also played 30.5 minutes per game, it’s clear that Jeff Teague has the ball in his hands more than anyone on the team. Teague averaged 15.9 points per game last season, second most on the team, while shooting 46 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from three-point. There’s no reason to believe that won’t increase this season.

The key to Teague scoring more this season will be getting to the free-throw line more often and shooting more accurately from outside. In 2014-2015 Teague only got to the free-throw line 4.4 times per game. His free-throw rate was 36 percent, which isn’t bad, but it could absolutely be higher.

An often disregarded thing about Teague is that he’s not a very good three-point shooter. For his career he shoots 34.1 percent from outside and he has shot 34.3 percent and 32.9 percent during the last two seasons. League average is around 35 percent, so those numbers are a bit discouraging.

Still, last season he was competent enough that his attempting 2.8 three-pointers per game didn’t hurt Atlanta. If that number can creep back up near 36 percent, where it was three seasons ago, Teague may see his points per game creep up as well. He has reportedly been working on moving without the ball in training camp. If he plays more shooting guard this season that means he will occasionally have to spot up. More catch and shoot opportunities could be just what he needs to improve his efficiency from three-point range.

Teague is just entering his prime and is arguably the Hawks most recognizable player. He made his first All-Star game last season and hopes to build off of that success. I think this is the year he cements himself as Atlanta’s best player and leading scorer.

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