DURHAM, N.C. – Out of all of the Nets who return to the team this season – nine in total – none needed a fresh start as much as Mirza Teletovic did.
The forward had a disappointing first season in Brooklyn, as he struggled to find consistent playing time under Avery Johnson or P.J. Carlesimo – something that was especially tough for him after he spent the previous years starring in Europe, most recently with Caja Laboral in the Spanish League.
But after getting a year to get comfortable with life in America and having a very successful showing at EuroBasket for his native Bosnia and Herzegovina, Teletovic is feeling good as he enters Year 2 of his NBA career.
“It takes a long time to return from not playing,” Teletovic said during his interview session at Nets media day on Monday. “Last year, I was proud of myself for having a lot of patience, because I really had a lot of patience, and I was just trying from just watching everything to get more experience in the NBA and to just know what I have to do.
“I think I learned a lot last year, not only from basketball, but from life. Like this morning, driving here, knowing all the media that’s going on here, it takes a little bit of time to get adjusted to everything. I think I adjusted pretty good to the life, and now basketball-wise I am in shape, in the old shape I was before I stopped playing last year … I feel good.”
Teletovic, the dominant scorer for his national team, finished the tournament with averages of 21.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while leading his country to a 3-2 record in group play. After spending so much of last season on the bench, he admitted it took him a while to get comfortable playing again once the NBA season ended in May.
“It’s tough when you don’t play the whole year, it’s tough to get back,” he said. “It took me like a month and a half to just get back in shape, so I could play the way I wanted to play. After a month and a half of starting to play games and everything, I just felt great, and everything felt right. “
In his first NBA season, Teletovic, who turned 28 last month, saw sporadic playing time, finishing the season with an average of 3.5 points in nine minutes per game across 54 contests, and hit just over 34 percent of his attempts from 3-point range. Teletovic made it clear that never knowing when he was going to get into a game – or how long he would play if he did – didn’t make preparing any easier.
“With the experience I have, I can adjust to things,” he said. “But last year, if I had played nine minutes in each game, [it would have been easier] than playing nine minutes in five games, then [don’t play] for 10 games, and then play three games and [don’t play] for four games. … It was very, very tough.
“I analyzed it with my coaches and everybody … it was just impossible to do. I could do a little bit more, for sure, but it is what it is. You can’t be put in a game and told to make four shots in two minutes. It’s impossible.”
The one consistent spell of playing time Teletovic received last season backs up his point. Over a 12-game stretch from Feb. 22 to March 18, he averaged 15.4 minutes and averaged 5.3 points per game on 45.6 percent shooting from the field and 39.3 percent shooting from 3-point range.
That kind of outside shooting in a power forward made Teletovic attractive to the Nets in the first place, and he believes he can provide it this season if given the chance.
“I think we don’t have an outside shooter [among the big men], someone who spreads the court,” Teletovic said. “I know I can do [many] more things, but that’s one thing that this team needs and I’m here to do it gladly, just to be part of the team and just to try and fit in my role.
“Whatever role the coaching staff sees for me this season, I’m going to do my best and just compete, like always.”