With a 41:16 record, the Toronto Raptors are confidently in first place at the Eastern Conference, while Jakob Pöltl’s bank surprises with their outstanding performance. For the Viennese, eight play-free days are on the programme around the All-Star weekend. No wonder Austria’s NBA player is in a good mood:”It’s just fun!”
Question: How does it feel to be number one in the East and go on the All-Star break? You read “We The East” instead of “We The North”.
Jakob Pöltl: The feeling is very good, we have had a really strong run lately. But now it’s time to hold on to the whole thing and continue to play basketball like this after the all-star break, hopefully to finish the regular season in first place at the Eastern Conference.
Question: Your five bankers as a 5 player unit have a better net rating than all the other line-ups in the NBA – unbelievable, isn’t it? Where have you bankers been able to improve in the last few weeks? Do you expect the bank to stand out in the playoffs?
The bank plays with incredible energy and at the moment with such self-confidence – that’s just fun! It’s difficult to explain: We don’t do that much differently than we did a month ago, for example. We simply put our full throttle into every game and still have fresh legs with our speed and athletics. So we frustrate the opponents – because we just always play hard and at full throttle. That is our greatest strength. I think that our star players will get more time in the playoffs, so it’s a good thing. However, I believe that we can also have a positive influence on the playoffs with this energy from the bank.
Question: With you personally, the increase in free throws (11 of the last 12 sat) and blocks is obvious. What do you think that’s all about?
The increase in free throws has certainly a lot to do with self-confidence. The security, which the coach gives us and me with the rotation, also has an effect on the performance, which makes the free-throwing easier for me. I trace the blocks back to our energy and activity in defense. I try to be and help out everywhere at the same time, which brings me to many blocks.
Question: Cleveland traded half the crew. What do you say – crazy, right? Are they more “terrifying” than before?
On the one hand crazy, on the other hand the team obviously did not fit together in the old composition. Cleveland did some moves before the Trade Deadline last year and got some “veterans”, this year they used and hired more young players – like the ones on our bank. It will show how they will grow together over the weeks, the first games in new constellations were very positive from their point of view.
Question: How will you spend your days off in the All-Star break?
I will spend the days off in Mexico, get some sunshine and relax, and then make sure that I get back to where I left off. First of all, it is important not to have a few days of basketball in your hand and to give yourself some peace and quiet in order to get back from the break with a certain freshness.
Question: Did the new format of the All-Star Game attract more interest with the selection of players by the two captains?
Of course, it is interesting to see who picks which players. I don’t know if it will have a big impact on the game itself. If the innovation makes the game more competitive, it won’t hurt. We’ll see about that.
Question: How much trouble is it that none of the Raptors are involved in the Rising Stars Challenge? Or does this also show that you simply function sensationally as a unit without droning young stars?
We were all a bit disappointed that none of us made it into the teams. In retrospect, I heard that the votes were fairly evenly split for our players, as no one stands out, and that nobody managed to achieve the necessary number of votes. I think that some of us deserve to be nominated, but there is nothing we can do about it. Personally, I’m not too angry about it: It would have been fun, but on the other hand I can use the break in a different way, which has its advantages.