It starts with confidence ... and by the time Marquis Teague joined the Nets, he had little of it. Maybe he should have stayed an extra year at Kentucky, where John Calipari was a huge fan. Maybe he suffered from immaturity or comparisons with his brother, Jeff (who came into the league three years older). Whatever the reason, Teague, who turned 21 this week, hadn't lived up to expectations.
Now that he's been with the Nets for more than a month, Crossover Chronicles takes a look at how he's done. Not bad if not great. He is slowly working his way into Jason Kidd's good graces.
Teague, Philip Rossman- Reich notes, has played about 10.6 minutes per game in the nine games he's played and is averaging a hair better than four points per game. In the last three games, he's played 44 minutes, mostly in garbage time, scoring 17 points on 50 percent shooting, missing his only three point attempt. He handed out eight assists, but also turned the ball over five times. Still, that's more minutes than he played in any three-game stretch since mid-December with the Bulls.
While there was little doubt he and Tom Thibodeau didn't get along, his teammates did say nice things about Teague when he departed.
Said Kirk Hinrich as he left, "He puts his work in, he plays hard, he practices hard. He works on his game. He's still very young. A lot of times with young players they just need to play."
He's getting some time and it will be interesting to see what if any time he gets against his old teammates --and Thibs-- on Monday in Brooklyn.
- Marquis Teague: No longer Derrick Rose heir apparent - Philp Rossman-Reich - Crossover Chronicles