16 wins, 27 losses – the record of the NBA, Miami Heat won”>San Antonio Spurs shortly after halftime in the regular season in the NBA is not exactly outstanding.
So far, however, Jakob Pöltl has made a positive impression. With 12.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 blocks and a 59 percent field shot rate, the 26-year-old from Vienna brings very strong stats to the floor in his sixth NBA season.
In January, the center has even averaged a double-double (11.9 points and 10.5 rebounds). Austria’s first and so far only NBA professional recently broke both the 2,500-point career mark and the 500 assists value.
In an interview, Pöltl takes stock:
Ask: Jakob, what’s your assessment shortly after halftime in the regular season from the team’s point of view?
Jakob Pöltl: The number of wins isn’t quite as high as we would have liked, but overall the performance over the season so far hasn’t been that bad. I think the development of the team is also quite good. The start of the season and the last few weeks have not gone well, at least as far as the win rate is concerned.
Ask: Before beating the Clippers, you had a ten-game streak with only one win and nine losses. The main reason was certainly the cancellations due to the Health & Safety Protocol. Do you also see other reasons?
Pöltl: The failures definitely hurt us. Because our attacking game is so much based on teamwork, it is of course difficult to get something good going quickly with a few new players who have hardly or never trained with us. I think we felt that very much. Of course, the players who returned after their Covid break were not at one hundred percent right away. That made it difficult for us in combination with the many away games. Hopefully things will improve again now, we have to find our way back to winning ways.
Ask: How frustrating or distorting is it to constantly deal with outages? Do you still think it’s the best solution to continue the season with as few postponements or cancellations as possible?
Pöltl: Of course it’s frustrating to deal with failures, especially with so many in such a short space of time. Personally, I wouldn’t want to make the decision whether to continue playing or take a break. I think it’s a business decision and ultimately it’s out of my hands.
“Especially in the last few weeks, when we haven’t won much, maybe I wasn’t conspicuous and active enough on offense, I could have done more.”
Ask: Double-doubles are almost standard with you, you’re probably the second best player on the team after Dejounte Murray and around number 40 in the league in terms of Player Efficiency Rating. Is your personal impression that you have taken a big step and what are your personal goals for the second half of the season?
Pöltl: Yes, I think I’ve played very well at times. But I also had phases with small slacks and I plan for the second half of the season to be a little more consistently good and to have a greater influence on the game. Especially in the last few weeks, when we didn’t win much, maybe I wasn’t conspicuous and active enough on offense, I could have done more.
Ask: What is your surprise team of the season so far?
Pöltl: It’s a bit difficult to answer that halfway through the season, because a lot can and will still happen. Cleveland has surprised me the most so far, the Cavs are playing a very strong season with a young team and an unconventional line-up. Basketball has actually been going in a different direction for the last ten years, but they’re thriving with a big lineup and they’re doing their thing very well.
Ask: What can we expect from you in the upcoming games?
Pöltl: I hope that in the next phase we can win more games with many home games. With a hopefully complete squad and a few trips, we should be able to get back into a rhythm more easily.
Ask: You had to sit out the last game, will you be able to play against Phoenix again on Tuesday night?
Pöltl: The back gave me a little trouble, but I’ll be ready to play again against the Suns.
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