Mirza Teletovic

Mirza Teletovic was on the verge of becoming the hero of the Copa. A superb run of 11 points (including three treys) in the last five minutes of the final, right when his team was struggling the most against the Joventut’s zone, kept Tau alive in the game until the very last second, and Mirza himself even had a winning shot in his hands, but missed it. Ironically, without this final effort, we would be talking about a completely forgettable performance.

With James Singleton injured in the preseason, Teletovic has seen his role on the team and his playing time significantly increased, and he has answered with a much more consistent playing level than he had delivered in the previous season. Improved in rebounding, trying to come up a bit more versatile and aggressive on the offensive end (with cuts towards the basket, and some low-post production), we missed all these ingredients in the Copa. The Bosnian was again the same limited power forward that hurts the defensive rebounding effort of his team (only 4 captures on his own board during the 75 minutes he played), and settles excessively for three-point shots (27 out of his 36 points came from the arc).

On defense, Teletovic also struggled defending the low post, as he’s a bit of an undersized frontcourt player, and doesn’t always work hard enough to keep his opponents out of the lane.

He’s a nice player for Europe, but performances like the one delivered in this Copa make you wonder if he’s really good enough to start for a team as demanding as Tau. Anyway, if Singleton manages to come back in good shape, he will be likely be relegated back to the bench.

Teletovic didn’t fare much better than Ponkrashov. He also barely played in the semifinal. In the game for third place, coach Maljkovic played him only 13 minutes, which speaks volumes about the little confidence he has in the Bosnian power forward. Teletovic answered with a scoreless performance and just one rebound. The only remarkable play he delivered was a dunk attempt where he showcased his nice athleticism. Otherwise, he went unnoticed, and gave more proof of his great struggles rebounding the ball. Actually, its everyday more unlikely that Teletovic claims a spot in the upcoming draft.

Mirza Teletovic had a terrific opportunity this week to showcase himself as coach Boza Maljkovic decided to leave Luis Scola in Vitoria for the Euroleague game against Lottomatica Roma. In 28 minutes of playing time, he scored 17 points, most of them from the paint, which highly contrasts with his usual production, from behind the arc. Teletovic showed some low post game, with an effective right-handed jump hook with a release point thanks to his leaping ability. He’s a strong guy who easily operates in the lane when it comes to gaining position and playing off contact. He was also active without the ball and had some looks under the basket that he easily transformed into dunks. Still, some of his flaws were there too, such as his poor rebounding production (only 3 captures) and some eventual problems to contest bigger rivals in the post. He’s still a bubble guy, but he could very well get some love in the late second round.

This was an awful tournament for Teletovic. He wasn’t able to record even a single point nor rebound in the 23 minutes he spent on the court. He barely played in the quarterfinal against Caja San Fernando, but didn’t take advantage of the minutes he enjoyed in the semifinal against Real Madrid when his teammates got in foul trouble. His offensive game is currently limited to his nice perimeter shooting, and he missed all his four three-point attempts. His rebounding efficiency got once again exposed by his inability to lock down his team's paint. He’s not a particularly active guy boxing out his rivals and his lack of size doesn’t help. He’s a nice tough defender who shows good mobility and likes to play physical, although again his lack of size gets exposed near the basket against bigger rivals. Certainly not enough baggage to provide real help to his team in order to overcome Real Madrid. Teletovic left the court fouled-out, which also comes to reflect his lack of concentration in the game, as he seemed to arrive a little late to many situations.

Not a helpful performance for Teletovic draft-wise. There’s not any guarantee that Mirza will hear his name called come draft night, and the Cup hasn’t improved his chances at all.

Teletovic is a strong and explosive athlete whose first offensive option is the three-point shooting. His accuracy is pretty remarkable, even if his percentages have fallen a bit lately. It’s a static jumper, but he’s releasing the ball rather quick, helping to open the floor for his teammates. Many times, you see little offensive activity coming from him beyond this department. However, Teletovic is a nice ball-handler who can attack his match-up off the dribble, as well as he can take advantage of his body in the low post to produce near the rim. But it’s not common to see him doing this stuff, even if he actually played off the dribble a few times this week against Prokom in the Euroleague. Anyway, he’s a complimentary scorer who takes advantage of the attention that his teammates get.

One of Tau’s biggest flaws matches with one of Teletovic’s main weaknesses, the defensive rebounding. The Bosnian power forward is struggling while trying to clean the defensive board for his team. He only averages 1.8 defensive captures in the Euroleague and 2.3 in the ACB League. He’s not being able to impose his physical strength, wingspan and athleticism, more useful for him in the offensive glass. Besides, he lacks some intimidation in the paint. Mirza displays intensity, enjoys nice mobility and the strength to battle any rival, but he often can’t keep up with biggest match-ups near the rim, where his limited size gets a bit exposed.

For the moment, and even if Teletovic is a secondary player in Tau, the fact that he’s earning consistent minutes in a top European team can only be considered a positive sign. With more lights than shadows, he’s a serious player who contributes whenever he’s on court and doesn’t commit too many mistakes. Perhaps he’s not a very intriguing guy NBA-wise, but his combination of strength and athleticism makes him a credible option in the second round.

Mirza Teletovic will get his first taste of top European competition this season with Tau Vitoria, but he seems ready for the task. A very strong power forward, he’s mature enough to contribute and sneak into the very competitive inside rotation, which he has already proven in the opening rounds of the ACB League, taking advantage of several injuries among big man in Vitoria to showcase his abilities and consistency on court.

The Bosnian power forward is a very strong player, quite athletic, even explosive, who isn’t afraid of contact at all, but at the same loves to hang around the perimeter. And that’s basically because his main scoring weapon is the 3-point shot. He’s surprisingly reliable firing from behind the arc, showing pretty good form and a very quick release. It’s almost always a static shot, not showing off-the-dribble skills. Actually, even if you eventually will see him doing it at times, he rarely puts the ball on the floor to attack his rival despite enjoying nice quickness. If he’s not shooting treys, he’s usually playing without the ball in pick-and-roll situations (that actually most times finish with him rolling outside for a pick-and-pop set) or looking for spaces near the basket.

Teletovic is not a very skilled low post player. He can do basic stuff, but he’s not particularly comfortable there and suffers trying to score over bigger rivals if he can’t outmuscle them with his physicality. He’s a 6-9 player, which isn’t bad, but still isn’t great, and indeed it’s a bit of the same story on defense, as he suffers trying to stop low post players who are taller than him once they receive the ball. He uses his body quite well trying to keep them far from the basket, but it’s not always enough. His lateral mobility is also a bit average, especially for an athletic guy like him, but in general he’s not a defensive liability at the European level, showing the right effort and trying to cash in on his strengths.

Mirza knows what he has to deliver to be effective. He sticks to what he does best, which is actually the only way he will get playing time on a team that features the likes of Luis Scola, Tiago Splitter and Kaya Pecker in the frontcourt. If he keeps working hard and plays serious basketball this season, he will certainly have a shot at the second round come draft next June.

Teletovic, enjoying three-point range, provides a different variation for the team’s offense, as he’s more of a pick-and-pop type of big, who likes to roll outside after setting screens. Regardless, he’s a very strong and athletic guy who can score in the low post and delivers plenty of hustle down low despite his youth.

We could also see Tau’s newcomer Mirza Teletovic having some action. We saw him playing closer to the basket than he’s been used to in the last few years. After all, Tau is one of the few teams in Europe that hasn’t used a perimeter-oriented power forward with some consistency in the last years. Teletovic looks very strong, perhaps stronger than ever. Indeed, if there was the least chance that he could become a small forward, it is gone already. Anyway, he didn’t show much, some off-the-ball work, some hustle, and that’s it. He had 2 points and 4 rebounds in the semifinal and scored 5 points in the final. We’ll have to wait until he gets into the team’s rhythm, although he will have to battle to crack the regular rotation.

Two years ago, Teletovic already made the final cut for the 2003 Eurobasket in Sweden despite being only 17 years old, but didn’t play a single minute in the competition. This time he’s expected to be a regular in the Bosnian rotation. He’s a guy that played a rather significant role in the Belgian league this past season, and theoretically is prepared enough for a National Team that will hardly get beyond the preliminary round. He’s not your typical 19 year old European; Mirza has a very mature physical set that’s ready to compete with any rival. He’s quite strong, even showing a rather wide frame, while he also features very good athleticism.

Teletovic has been playing power forward this last season, and he will probably stick to this position for the tournament. He’s strong enough to be effective in the low post, gaining room with his body, and never being afraid of physical contact. He’s not awfully skilled there, as he doesn’t feature fancy movements, but he gets good position to release turnaround jumpers near the basket. Besides, like most of the modern power forwards in Europe, he has three-point range. On defense, he’s rather quick at the four position, although also undersized, which makes things easy for taller counterparts. The real potential of this player would rest in his ability to play small forward, where he would still feature enough athleticism and the right size. But he might be too big for that position, perhaps not enjoying as much quickness and elasticity as you would like for a perimeter guy, while he also doesn’t show that much perimeter skill beyond his shot. He’s young, though, and has time to improve and develop his game in many ways. For starters, this tournament could be an excellent chance to evaluate him against top competition.

Teletovic is a really big and strong kid. Last year he impressed with his toughness and mean streak under the basket. While he is athletic and explosive for a PF, he might lack the height to make it in the NBA from the four spot, and therefore needs to move down a position most likely. For long stretches he played small forward at the camp. He has the shot, but not the quickness, which is why he might get exposed at a higher level at that position. Has the potential to become a dominating power player in Europe, but his lack of height makes it unlikely that a NBA team will try to play him at his true position, at least at this point. Someone could try to convert him into a small forward, but the risk is to make him a tweener. The guy is already trying to show he can play far from the basket, but he needs to be careful and not lose his inside game, because it would be a waste to see such a strong guy hanging out on the perimeter jacking up threes.