The burden is now on Jeff Teague to bring the Atlanta Hawks to new heights, possibly a championship in 2016.

According to Kareem Gantt of Rant Sports, Teague should man up by making the big plays, provide constant leadership on the court and let everything flow through him.

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Teague has grown to become a top-tier point guard since he took over the starting role from aging Mike Bibby,.

He averaged 15.9 PPG last season after posting a career high 16.5 PPG in 2013-14.

The 27-year-old Teague also averaged 7 assists per game, while shooting 46 percent from the floor last seson. 

However, if Teague would lead the Hawks deeper in to the playoffs, he will need to  average around 18-19 points per game, especially now that DeMarre Carroll is gone.

Sports Ilustrated noted that Teague has developed into a three-point threat, shooting over 34 percent from beyond the arc last season.

Carroll, who is now with the Toronto Raptors, connected on 120 of 304 three-point attempts, which is a 39.5 percent mark or 4.5 percent better than NBA average. 

The perception was that Carroll was given open looks because of plays by Jeff Teague or the 3-point threat coming from Kyle Korver.

It is noteworthy that before joining the Hawks in 2013, Carroll had never made more than 20 3-pointers in a season. 

This shows that Teague's skills are also much needed in distributing the ball to other Hawks shooters.

Last season, the Hawks' offense was rated in the top 10 in points per game, and were ranked second in the assists department with 25.7 per game, boosted by Teague's contributions and ability to create offense.

Having Al Horford in the front-court allows Teague to space the floor, either dumping the ball to Horford in the paint or penetrating to the basket. 

In the pick and roll, Teague was fifth in the NBA last season with league in points per possession with 0.90.

With Teague entering his prime and coming off last year's successful campaign, expectations are high that the Hawks' point guard will develop into top-tier player in the league.

TagsJeff Teague, DeMarre Carroll, al horford, Kyle Korver