David Teague had yet another strong performance in his third game here at Portsmouth, showing off a side of his game we hadnt yet seen before. Hes already shown an excellent shooting stroke and the ability to finish in transition, but today he displayed a bit of a mid-range game, hitting a few tough shots and showing he had the ability to pull up in the lane just as well as he takes the ball to the hoop. Teague doesnt have the greatest ball-handling skills, but he has a decent crossover and he doesnt try to force the ball through holes that arent there, so turnovers werent much of a problem. Teague hit a nice floater in the lane early in the game, where he recognized there were defenders in his way of the hoop would he have driven all the way there. Later in the game he hit a very impressive turnaround jumper in the lane from 10 feet, which he was also fouled on for the and-1. He also hit another floater in the lane from five feet off a crossover to his left hand.
Teague also did some damage from deep in this game, hitting two three-pointers, both of which came in fast-break situations where he got the dump off and put the ball up with an extremely quick release, once with a hand in his face. His stroke is smooth and his form is pretty solid. He also finished in transition a few times, once with a lay-up off the glass and another time with an explosive jam.
Defensively, Teague does a good job getting into his mans face, using his hands to disrupt and poke at the ball. He moves pretty well laterally, but he sometimes has trouble chasing through screens without the ball, but nothing more than the average player. He should have a very good chance of getting into Orlando as well as into a training camp, and will have a decent chance of making a roster as well, either at the beginning of the season or on a 10-day contract later on should he try his luck in the D-League. In terms of a comparison, he resembles
Tarence Kinsey in many ways, though is by no means an identical player. He doesnt have quite the length of Kinsey, and he might need to work a bit harder on his mid-range game to get it to Kinseys level, but Teague is a better outside shooter and has a similar overall build. Kinsey played in both pre-draft camps last season, and was signed as an undrafted free agent, which is the most likely path to the NBA for Teague as well.
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