Jeff Teague is confident that the 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks team will beat this year’s Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Oklahoma City Thunder has compiled a striking franchise record 68 wins regular season led by newly crowned MVP Shygilgauss Alexander.
And it’s clear in the playoffs that Gilgeous-Alexander alone is not the only reason for OKC’s hegemony.
Beyond Jalen Williams and two other stars, Chet Holmgren, Thunder boasts a leading supporting cast of Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe and Cason Wallace.
The Thunder finally reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012, leading 3-1 in the conference finals.
Despite this OKC team’s success, Jeff Teague believes he and his former Atlanta Hawks team are better.
Teague was a prominent member of the 2014-15 Hawks. They had an incredible year as he, Al Horford, Paul Millsapp and Kyle Colber were selected to be All-Stars, leading to a 60-win season.
Unfortunately, they were swept by LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After recently praised Gilgauss Alexander for reviving a midrange shot and “save the NBA,” Teague boldly claimed that he and the Hawks could easily deal with the OKC star’s crafty, but polarizing offensive play, and ultimately struck lightning.
“We definitely got a tip this year,” Teague said. “We played like them. I don’t like (Gilgeous-Alexander) (Lebron James).
“That matchup, SGA vs our team, I’m cool with that. We couldn’t: ‘Bron was 6 feet 8, 260 pounds. We didn’t have the size for him.
“There’s no rudeness to the SGA, but John Wall and they were doing the same thing, not of the same size, but we played them.
“James Harden was doing that. We played all the guys that were killing and we got 30 (points) in the game. We beat Isaiah (Thomas). We cleaned up Joe Johnson. They all saw. We saw it. He wasn’t getting 35.
“Al Holford and (Isaiah) Hartenstein? What’s f—Hartenstein?”
Additionally, Teague argued that the Washington wizard of the time, led by John Wall and Bradley Beal, was better than Gilgus Alexander and OKC.
“I’m telling you the truth, the wizards were better than them. Yes, they were,” Teague said.
“What are you looking at today? John Wall had the same kind of aggression as the SGA. He was hell to protect. Bradley Beale averaged 25 years old. Paul Pierce was still killing him.
“Klay also thinks about Golden State. Bro, they kill this team, even KD.
Teague further states: “The reason they are a good team is because the league is down.
The old heads claiming that they can beat a particular player or team in the present era are nothing new in basketball debate.
But at the end of the day, you should be grateful and enjoy the ongoing magical run of this big season for Gilgaus Alexander and Thunder.
