Mirza Teletovic bouncing back from blood clots to have good season

Howard Megdal | USA TODAY Sports

The clock counted down and the Phoenix Suns, one-by-one, tapered off at shootaround. The buzzer sounded, and a lone player kept on setting himself, arms up, the ball arcing into a familiar basket from three.

Mirza Teletovic isn't in any hurry to stop playing basketball. Not after a blood clot he suffered last season took months out of his season, and put his career in peril.

“I really enjoy it once more right now,” Teletovic told USA Today Sports when he stopped shooting at last. “Talk more, laugh more. I play easier than I did. Basketball comes more fluidly to me now.”

The results are clear to see. Teletovic is shooting 45.6% from three-point range this season, which would be a career-best. In December, he's shooting 48.3%.

“Well, we knew he could shoot the ball, and that's why we wanted him, to get that stretch four guy who can light it up,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. “And he helped us win a game the other night with his shooting.”

That was a recent game against Toronto, and Teletovic torched the Raptors with six threes in seven attempts.

But Teletovic is more than simply a spot-up shooter, with some added value that should serve him well next summer. He signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Suns, and a year to show what he can do while staying healthy will have him in high demand as the entire league finds itself with money to spend.

In a few games this season, Teletovic often found himself under the basket, supplementing his work from deep with work on the defensive boards. Notably, despite playing for more than a month with symptoms from that blood clot last season, his defensive rebounding percentage inched above 20 with the Nets.

And this season in Phoenix, Hornacek isn't using him that way just yet, though he said he's aware if the Suns need him as a big, “we won't get outmuscled.” Instead, the work by Teletovic as facilitator at times has his assist percentage up above 10%, while he's limited his turnover percentage to a paltry 6.1%. Put another way, he's seamlessly transitioned to the high-octane Phoenix offense without making the kinds of mistakes that would slow it down.

“I think, coming over to Phoenix, they play the game that I like,” Teletovic said. “They run, and the ball moves, and having the kind of teammates that I have — they talk, they like to hang out together. It's just a great atmosphere. Team chemistry is unbelievable, and I enjoy that.”

That said, Teletovic is most valuable when he's shooting the ball from behind the arc. There's an artistry to the way he sets himself so quickly, the quick release combining with his 6-9 frame to make closeouts largely futile. And the Suns really are set up to maximize what he does best — a pair of slashing guards in Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight along with the hyper-efficient pick-and-roll finisher in Tyson Chandler, provide Teletovic with all the looks he could possibly ask for.

“Definitely. It makes it easier, “Teletovic said. “And then to have Brandon, they dribble-drive, every time they have double-teams, they kick the ball out to me. I get wide-open shots.”

He's clearly enjoying it, the last man to leave shootaround on Tuesday. He reveled in the down time as well, though, describing himself as a “positive energy guy” who didn't mind the unexpected chance to spend more time with his four children.

It all left Teletovic feeling sanguine as he considers his plans for next summer. A man who grew up in a war-torn Bosnia, and weathered a near-death experience, doesn't have much concern for something as easy to navigate as free agency.

“I have experience now, playing four years in the NBA,” Teletovic said. “10, 12 years in Europe. So it's about whatever's asked of me. It's different in Phoenix than it was in Brooklyn. Every team has different demands. So I'm ready for whatever comes.”