Pristupio: 16.04.2008.
Poruka: 1.798
"It's unbelievable inspiration for me. Drazen was everybody's idol back in our countries. That's one of the reasons I came here. He's a legend."
From war-torn Bosnia as a young boy to European stardom to one of his idol's former NBA teams, Teletovic, 28, has emerged as a solid all-around player for the Nets in the 2014 playoffs, and particularly vs. the Miami Heat.
In consecutive games vs. the Heat, Teletovic has scored 20 and 12 points and is 10-for-16 on three-pointers. He had 12 points on 4-of-7 three-pointers in Brooklyn's 104-90 victory in Game 3 on Saturday, and the Heat know they can no longer let him have clean looks from the three-point line.
"Normal closeouts on his attempts are not good enough right now," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Spoelstra addressed Teletovic's shooting with his team at Sunday's practice.
"He can just flat-out shoot the ball," Heat star LeBron James said. "There's only a few guys in our league who can do that, and we have a guy like that on our team in James Jones who just comes in and if he touches the ball and lets it go, you believe it's going in.
"You've got to try and get to him a lot quicker than a lot of guys in our league. A contest is just not enough. You've got to try do a little bit more."
The reason the 6-9, 242-pound Teletovic is getting good shots, he says, is because Miami is focused on keeping Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce from driving to the basket. Once they get into the paint, the defense collapses, leaving Teletovic open at the three-point line.
"The guys expect me to do my job, and my job is to spread the court and knock down those threes when they get double-teamed," Teletovic said.
In last season's playoffs, Teletovic barely made it off the bench in Brooklyn's series loss to the Chicago Bulls. He played one minute in seven games.
A reporter joked that's where Teletovic got his playoff experience.
"That's a good one," Teletovic said.
He can laugh now. Teletovic struggled with inconsistent playing time last season under Nets coaches Avery Johnson and P.J. Carlesimo.
"Go back, when Drazen came to the NBA, go check his interviews," Teletovic said. "Every time they asked him 'What's happening? Why are you not playing?' He almost couldn't speak. It's tough for everybody. Drazen was a 10,000 times bigger than I was coming to the NBA. It was a relief for me when I came here and I knew Drazen did it too. … Coming to the NBA and not having the time to play, it's tough."
The Nets' front office wanted more minutes for Teletovic last postseason and there is belief inside the organization he could have altered the outcome of that series with his ability to stretch the floor.
Things changed when Teletovic met first-year Nets coach Jason Kidd for the first time last offseason. Kidd's offensive philosophy – sharing and moving the ball quickly and finding the open shooter – suited Teletovic skills.
"This year with Jason has been a lot different," he said. "The first day when he came in he told me, 'Listen, we need you this year. We know what you're capable of.' "
This season, Teletovic more than doubled his minutes (19.4 per game) and points (8.4 per game) and shot 39% on three-pointers.
Now, Teletovic brings a real-life perspective to his situation whether it's sitting on the bench or dropping threes on the Heat in the playoffs.
He grew up in the Bosnia in the early to mid-1990s during that country's war. Teletovic's town, Jablanica, was hit regularly with grenades and other artillery. His family's house was hit and was reconstructed.
A young Teletovic found refuge at a nearby basketball court, 200 yards from his house.
"You can't go far away from your house. Imagine they start bombing, you have to run to your house," he said. "You have to be close to your house and the closest thing for me was the basketball court."
When Teletovic played in his first NBA games, a loud pregame siren meant to fire up fans paralyzed Teletovic. The sound reminded him of the sirens he heard in his youth – to let people know of incoming artillery.
"You're in danger when you're feeling bombs," he said.
Guarding James is no longer such a big deal.
"It definitely helps you deal with pressure," he said. "I lived in a difficult time for three years. You appreciate every day that you have in your life that's free and you can enjoy life."
The war ended in 1995 and Teletovic began growing into a player with size and a nice outside shot. Bosnian coaches worked tirelessly with him – three hours in the morning and three hours at night, he says – and he became meticulous shooter.
He wants the lines of the basketball facing him just right, wants the ball coming off his fingertips just so, wants to release the ball at the height of his jump and needs his elbow in the right position. He's obsessed with making his shot as perfect as can be and said he will watch a missed shot hundreds of times to find out what went wrong.
"It's just something you have to give a lot thought to," he said.
He got his big break 10 years ago when well-regarded NBA international scout Pete Philo got a tip from a Croatian friend and told him to check out Teletovic.
Philo made a trip to Sarajevo to watch him play and then saw him practice another time. Impressed, Philo invited Teletovic to the renowned Eurocamp showcasing the best young international players for NBA scouts.
International basketball expert and ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla worked that camp and recalled Teletovic "was the toughest kid at the camp. He had an ability to shoot the ball and looked like he would be a very good European player. I didn't think back then he would be having the success he is having now but that's the beauty of the game. He improved."
Teletovic began his pro career in Belgium and eventually became a star in Spain before joining the Nets two summers ago.
"I can show a lot more," Teletovic said. "It's just a matter of time."
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