Teague takes a crash course in chemistry
Veteran PG learning about C’s on the fly
Jeff Teague was attracted to the Celtics, in part, because of the opportunity to play with one of the NBA’s great young twosomes.
But the veteran point guard doesn’t have a lot of time to mesh with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown or, for that matter, Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis.
With the first exhibition game two days away in Philadelphia, all are scrambling for a groove. Tristan Thompson, according to Brad Stevens, may not even be available by the regular season opener on Dec. 23 due to lingering hamstring trouble.
And none of it is helped by this cram session of a training camp. The process admittedly hasn’t been smooth for Teague.
“It’s a little difficult, because we can’t spend as much time together because of certain rules,” Teague said during a Saturday Zoom session. “It’s going fast, and we don’t have as much time to jell as we would in a normal offseason. Usually guys come in, play pickup and things like that, and you get to know someone on and off the court. Right now it’s a crash course. The good thing about this team is they have a really good nucleus, and I’m just trying to fit in and figure it all out.”
Another orientation is set for January, when Kemba Walker is expected to return from a knee rehab project. Until then, much will fall on Walker’s backup.
“We’ve got a lot of great guys, a lot of talented players, and it’s going to be a whole team effort not having a guy like that right now, a dynamic point guard like that, so I guess we’ll figure it out,” said Teague, who has found a particularly receptive audience in Tatum and Brown.
“They do a great job of listening,” he said. “They take advice and it’s a backand-forth thing. I know how talented they are and how much they mean to the team, so I just try to give my pointers where I can. If I see something, I try to let them know what I see, and vice versa – if they see something, they let me know.
“But you’ve got to find your role, and for them, they’re going to be here for years to come. I just got to find ways to help them be better, and obviously they’re going to help me be better. But that’s one thing – just trying to help them be the players that they can be and this team to be the team that they can be. And it should be a great year.”
Teague also has a varied group of big men to learn and blend with.
“I’ve played with a lot of talented bigs. You’ve just got to figure out the person,” he said. “Figuring out that you throw the ball up to Rob (Wiliams) because he’s an athletic big, he goes and gets it. Theis, you can play different ways on him. And obviously with Tacko (Fall), you want to make sure you throw the ball up. But you learn each other. You figure it out where guys are comfortable catching the ball. It’s going to be a work in progress. We’re still a team that’s trying to figure it out right now. We’ve got some time to try to get it right before our first game, but we’re still working.”