- Slug: Sports-Suns Teletovic,650
By ZURIEL LOVING
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – February has been about as challenging a month as one could imagine for the Suns.
The month began with a new head coach. Earl Watson took over the team on an interim basis on Feb. 1, a day after Jeff Hornacek was fired. On Feb. 18, talented but troubled forward Markieff Morris was traded to the Washington Wizards. And, with just three days left in the month, the Suns are yet to win a game in February, going 0-9.
However, a bright spot has emerged in this dark month, forward Mirza Teletovic. His latest performance in a strong February – a season-high 30 points in Thursday’s 116-106 loss to his former team, the Brooklyn Nets.
“He hits shots,” Watson said. “He made big plays down the stretch offensively and he’s a good player.”
It wasn’t enough for Teletovic.
“It was OK I guess,” Teletovic said. “It would have been much better if we had won the game.”
Teletovic’s production has gone up significantly since Watson was named interim head coach.
In the nine games he’s played for Watson, Teletovic has averaged 16.6 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game. In 49 games under Hornacek, Teletovic averaged 9.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He is also seeing a lot more playing time, average 24 minutes off the bench for Watson after just 17 minutes under Hornacek.
Blood clots in Teletovic’s lungs almost ended his career last season with the Brooklyn Nets. He missed the final 39 games of the regular season after being diagnosed with bilateral pulmonary embolus. In July 2015, Teletovic signed a one-year deal with the Suns for a reported $5.5 million. This season he is back on the court and grateful he has the opportunity to continue playing.
“I feel great, I feel unbelievable,” Teletovic said. “Just having the opportunity again and having the chance to play in this league is beautiful.”
For the first time in his four-year career, he is averaging double digits in scoring, putting up 10.8 points per game this season. Teletovic appreciates the efforts Watson has put forward in his short tenure as head coach.
“We have the same goals. Earl is a great coach,” Teletovic said. “I think it’s kind of tough for him since he couldn’t really make the team what he wanted. He’s just trying to make the best out of it.”
Len trending up
Suns center Alex Len has also performed well of late.
After sustaining an ankle injury in practice on Feb. 24, Len came off the bench against the Brooklyn Nets for 13 points and six rebounds. He is one of the young guys Watson has found is continually improving.
Since Watson took the reins as head coach, Len is averaging 11 points per game in eight games.
“You have young guys who are getting the opportunity to play and get experience,” Watson said. “You have Alex Len who is now coming on strong. He’s developing post play and he’s comfortable in the post. That’s always big with young players who are comfortable doing what they’re supposed to do and become effective in their position and naturally grow.”
Giving a break
Watson cancelled practice on Friday morning, giving his team time to recover and rest before their matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.
“I’ve been really aggressive in practice, probably been practicing way too long,” Watson said. “So now we’re pulling back, we want energy. We can’t make extreme change at this point in the season. I’m learning and we’re navigating together as a group and as a family.”
Looking forward, there are still 24 games left in the season including Saturday’s matchup against the Grizzlies.
“I think the losing, it builds character. It builds innovation, it builds creativity and most importantly it centers what’s important in a group, in a family. As you know, nothing in this league is built overnight and taking over late in the season, we understood that,” Watson said. “The main subtle change is execution. The losing we study from it, we learn from it and we can’t lose the same way.”