Quantcast Mark Bradley With Teague at the tiller, the Hawks take a stunning Game 1

Two years out of Wake Forest, Teague has become a flash point for Hawks’ fans. Some feel he’s the point guard of the future and has been poorly served by two different head coaches. Pragmatists ask instead: If the dissimilar  Mike Woodson and Larry Drew were both loath to play Teague, is he an NBA guard at all?

In this Round 2, the Hawks have no choice. They can’t start Jamal Crawford because you lose his off-the-bench boost and he’s not much of a defender anyway. They can’t swing Joe Johnson to the point because he’s needed to score. So, by process of elimination …

Jeff Teague.

“It’s a great opportunity for Teague to go out and show what he can do,” said Josh Smith, speaking before Game 1 here. “This is definitely make-or-break for him.”

According to Smith, the Hawk veterans have liked what they’ve seen from Teague. He came to the United Center early Monday evening to hoist practice shots, and the young man who can get overly excited didn’t appear frazzled by the task.

Said Drew: “He has an ability. He can utilize that ability.”

Lo and behold, the Hawks’ ninth man outplayed the NBA’s soon-to-be MVP in the first quarter of Game 1. Teague made the Hawks’ first basket, and also their sixth. Rose wouldn’t score a point in the period, missing seven shots. The Hawks led by 10 points inside the first six minutes, prompting a frothing crowd to fall silent. Was the No. 1 seed about to cede the homecourt edge so easily?

Well, no. This is the NBA. These are the Hawks. And the Bulls can play a little. (You don’t win 62 games by tripping over your shoelaces.) But the presence of Teague had galvanized the Hawks in a way seldom seen: They were getting to the rim and scoring against the league’s best defense.

“That’s something that’s effective in my game,” Teague would say afterward, rather humbly.

Said Drew: “He did just a phenomenal job in running our team. And I could see our players trying to keep him motivated and stimulated. We thought we could get into the lane and cause some havoc.”

Havoc is exactly what was unleashed here. The East’s No. 1 seed now has to win in Philips Arena to take the series, and Wednesday’s Game 2 has become a must for the Bulls. But the Hawks, to their credit, didn’t act surprised by what they’d done.

Said Teague: “It’s a long series. It’s only one game.”

Teague’s line: Ten points, five assists, one turnover in 44 minutes.