This occurred within the span of a minute: Brooklyn Nets forward Mirza Teletovic bullied Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Miller in the post, hit a short jumper over him, grabbed a defensive rebound, trailed the play, and knocked down a big three-pointer in rhythm. The five-point swing ended with an emphatic chest-bump and the Nets up six with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter.
Teletovic struggled last year, whether the Nets gave him playing time or not, and less than a week ago he told The Brooklyn Game he wasn’t sure if he had a role on the Nets. Since that day, Teletovic has played 68 minutes over three games, averaging 14.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and hitting 9 of 18 three-point attempts.
The Nets have a bit of a logjam in the frontcourt, with Brook Lopez, Kevin Garnett, Andray Blatche, Mason Plumlee, Reggie Evans, and Teletovic healthy. Evans has been the recent odd man out, and Teletovic has seen brief time at small forward with Paul Pierce and Andrei Kirilenko sidelined. When (if?) the team gets fully healthy again, Teletovic’s playing time will go down with everyone else, if he’s not marginalized from the rotation completely. But the way he’s spacing the floor, it’s hard to keep him off for long.