Breaking Down Jeff Teague's Backcourt Partners

Just as in 2009-10, the Atlanta Hawks are much worse in 2010-11 when one-time point guard of the future Jeff Teague is on the court. Teague's box score stats have generally improved in his sophomore season, so it's fair to wonder if the constancy of his on/off stats (with admittedly small sample sizes from both seasons) better represents the quality of his play.

Following the lead of the organization's actions, I've essentially written off the possibility of Teague contributing to the Atlanta Hawks now or in the future, but is that fair?

Breaking down his performance based on who shares the backcourt with him, it's clear that the Hawks are far better off when Teague plays the point alongside a veteran two guard:

2 Guard	Poss	Off Eff	Def Eff	Diff
Ja. Crawford	585	107.6	105.9	+1.7
Evans	65	103	90.6	+13.6
Johnson	41	104.8	89.7	+15.1

Than when he plays alongside a veteran point guard:

2 Guard	Poss	Off Eff	Def Eff	Diff
Bibby	26	92	103.8	-11.8

Or alongside a small forward playing out of position:

2 Guard	Poss	OffEff	DefEff	Diff
Wilkins	33	109.7	117.1	-7.4
Williams	4	20	200	-180

Or alongside a rookie shooting guard:

2 Guard	Poss	Off Eff	Def Eff	Diff
Jo. Crawford	76	96	140.8	-44.8

Eliminate the 76 possessions Teague has played alongside Jordan Crawford and his season numbers would look like this:

Player	Poss	Off Eff	Def Eff	Diff
Teague	753	106	104.5	+1.5

Rather than this:

Player	Poss	Off Eff	Def Eff	Diff
Teague	829	105.1	107.8	-2.7

Eliminate all the possessions alongside Jordan Crawford, Bibby, or the two small forwards playing 2-guard, and Teague's on/off numbers this season look like this:

Player	Poss	Off Eff	Def Eff	Diff
Teague	691	107	103.6	+3.4

Bear in mind that, on the season, the Hawks have outscored opponents by 2.4 points per 100 possessions.

Based on both this season's box score stats and the team's performance when Teague plays alongside a genuine, NBA-caliber 2-guard he appears a perfectly adequate backup point guard. Given his youth and the lack of a perfectly adequate starting point guard on the Atlanta Hawks roster he probably still deserves regular minutes both for the benefit of the 2010-11 team and whatever chance exists that Teague has not yet maximized his talents.