Five Bucks, including Mirza Teletovic, coping with injuries

The Milwaukee Bucks' injury situation has gotten to the point where head coach Jason Kidd needs to stop and think before providing updates, mostly so he doesn't forget one of the names from the laundry list of wounded players.

In total there are five. Matthew Dellavedova (left knee tendinitis) and Jabari Parker (post-surgery, left ACL) participated in practice on Monday at the team's downtown Sports Science Center while Tony Snell (left patellar tendinitis), Mirza Teletovic (post-surgery, left knee) and Jason Terry (left calf strain) remained out.

Dellavedova, who competed in five-on-five portions as well as four-on-four drills, appears to be the closest to returning to game action. His status for Wednesday's 7 p.m. game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center is still in doubt, though, as he's experienced ups and downs on his road to recovery.

“I think we’ll see how he feels tomorrow," Kidd said. "If he feels better then hopefully he’ll practice tomorrow and (maybe) he can put a couple good days together and we’ll go from there.”

Teletovic, who continues to make progress, has been out since Nov. 7 at Cleveland.

“I’d been hurting for a month and in the Cleveland game away it kind of happened and really started bugging me," Teletovic said. "We got to San Antonio to practice, and I really couldn’t do anything with the knee.”

Team officials weren't initially sure of what was ailing Teletovic, but an MRI revealed that the cartilage in his knee was in need of repair, and he had surgery on Nov. 21 at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

“I was kind of disappointed because I felt like I was kind of in good rhythm and feeling good with the guys on the court," said Teletovic, who was averaging 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 15.9 minutes per game, while shooting 46.7% from three-point range.

Since then, Teletovic has embarked on a routine that's foreign to him.

He's never had an injury keep him out for an extended period of time. What made it tougher was his rehab regimen kept him in Milwaukee, away from the team during their lengthy Western Conference road trip.

“For me it’s new, so I have to figure out ways how to deal with it," Teletovic said. "You think, like today, when I came into practice I thought, ‘Ah, I can go, I feel good!’ and then you do certain moves and you’ll be like, ‘No, no, I’m not good.’ It takes time.”

Teletovic was able to get on the court to do some shooting on Monday, jumping less than usual on his attempts. Before he could even do that, though, he first had to prove he could handle the load.

There was work in the weight room and slow, closely monitored stretches and movements on the court meant to test the strength of his knee.

"The past week I’ve been getting more at it, and I’ve been allowed to do more," he said. "I’ve got to earn my basketball time back in the weight room before I can go out there. It takes time; patience is important.”

Patience doesn't always come easy. When he's had the opportunity, Teletovic has leaned on Parker for guidance and support.

While he's always had great respect for Parker's determination to battle back from a pair of ACL tears, Teletovic, through his own injury, has gained a deeper appreciation for the way Parker has worked and continues to push toward his eventual return.

"It’s unbelievable," Teletovic said. "To have an injury like he had and just come back and you see him on the court now running, dunking and doing everything he was doing before. There’s no difference between Jabari now and Jabari a year ago. ... I’m just trying to appreciate him as a teammate.”

When Teletovic does get back to game action — his surgery came with an expected four-week recovery period — he hopes to join a team that is continuing its current strong stretch. The Bucks have won 6 of their last 7 games and are 11-4 since Teletovic's injury, which also happens to be the amount of time Eric Bledsoe has been with the team.

As much as the team has changed since Bledsoe arrived, Teletovic believes he won't be too far behind the learning curve upon his return. That's because he spent a year playing with Bledsoe in Phoenix in 2015-'16, where he learned firsthand just how fast Bledsoe is and how that affects him as a shooter.

"I know the way he functions and I know just (to) trail because he’s going to bring all the attention towards him, especially him and (Giannis Antetokounmpo), too," Teletovic said.

KG's return: Former NBA star Kevin Garnett, who has made appearances at numerous Bucks practices over the past year, was on hand for Monday's session.

During the portion of practice open to the media, Garnett spent time working with rookie Sterling Brown, helping him with post moves and turnaround jumpers, before spending time instructing a group that consisted of Thon Maker, D.J. Wilson and Joel Bolomboy.

“He’ll work with anybody who wants to work," Kidd said. "Which is good. All the young guys want to work. He comes here once in a while to help the guys out and we’re very lucky to have him.”