Every player on a team has a role. For some, it’s to be the primary scorer or distributor. For others, it’s to rebound or defend.
But Mirza Teletovic’s role with the Nets is a simple one: to shoot.
“I need to stretch the court so Deron [Williams] and Joe [Johnson] and Brook [Lopez] have a lot of open space to play one-on-one and then they can shoot,” Teletovic said after a recent practice.
As part of the $330 million makeover of their roster this summer, the Nets brought Teletovic, a 6-foot-9 power forward, over from Europe using their “mini” mid-level exception, and signing him to a three-year deal worth about $9.6 million. The reason the Nets were interested in Teletovic, who made his NBA debut in last night’s preseason opener against the Sixers in Atlantic City, was his ability to shoot the ball, particularly from 3-point range.
Teletovic did plenty of shooting last night, but struggled to put the ball in the basket. He finished 2-for-13 from the field and 2-for-11 from 3-point range to end up with six points in the Nets’ 108-105 victory.
Many of those shots came in the fourth quarter, when Teletovic found himself wide open several times after some good ball movement, but failed to knock them down. His biggest miss of the game came with about a minute to go and the Nets up two, when he came off a screen on a set play and misfired on an open look from the top of the key.
After Damien Wilkins tied the game with a pair of 3-pointers, Teletovic made a nice drive-and-dish to C.J. Watson on the ensuing possession, before Watson also missed a 3-pointer.
He missed his lone attempt in overtime, as well, a wide-open look from the right wing. But even after his struggles, the last thing Nets coach Avery Johnson wants Teletovic to do is to stop shooting.
“[I want him to] shoot 20 times,” Johnson said. “He’s the type of guy that, if he has 11 3’s [tomorrow] night at home, he’ll make eight, and that’s OK. He’s a real capable 3-point shooter, and this was his first NBA game. He knows what he’s doing, and we want him to continue to shoot.”