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NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND

February 17, 2017

John Wall

New Orleans, Louisiana

Q. How much has that helped you and helped you feel fresh?
JOHN WALL: I think my surgeries have helped, but also the way Coach Brooks is. He's a great coach. He understands it's a new era of basketball, not like the old way it used to be. Some days we have 30-minute practices, and then we have an hour practice. It depends how we come in and get things fixed. He gives us the opportunity to take days off and rest. He shut the gym down from us.

That's helping us a lot, keeping us healthy and keeping us in shape and keeping us motivated and wanting to compete every night.

Q. If you like to finish a game, would you prefer as a player finishing with a great assist or with a score?
JOHN WALL: For me, I like the assist. I get more excited when my teammate is scoring. If I make a heck of a pass and get my teammates a shot and they finish it, I'm more excited for that. So for me, it's assist.

Q. The feelings about the All-Star has changed this year for some special reason, or are you feeling -- you get nervous. You get anxious. What's your feeling?
JOHN WALL: It's not new to me no more, but I think it's probably the most special one for me just coming off of two knee surgeries and not knowing if I was going to be able to start the season and not being able to play back-to-backs until January and having a heck of a season. Without my coaching staff and my 14 other teammates, I wouldn't be in this position. I think this will probably be the best one.

Q. Boston hasn't won a playoff series with this core. Toronto made the conference finals and has kind of struggled. You guys are playoff tested. You've been in that situation and won those games and you have a lot of matchups. Are you guys maybe the most suited for a playoff run?
JOHN WALL: Kind of can say that. But you say the Celtics, a team that hasn't won one, they're improving. They get the taste we had before competing and just falling short. And the Raptors are a team that's been to the conference finals last year, and they know how to get there. We have to grab the opportunity. We've got to keep playing the way we're playing. Not being satisfied because we're having success right now. Just keep doing the right things and trying to be successful. And I think if we stay healthy and stay in the mindset we have, we have the opportunity to make a big run.

Q. You said you'd rather make an assist than a score at the end of the game. Bradley got a big deal last summer. Otto is probably going to get a huge one this time. Do you ever think about how much money you've made your teammates?
JOHN WALL: Yeah, I do, but that's my job as a point guard, to try to make everybody else better around me. When you do those types of things, you get recognition for it. When it's your time to get paid and whatever it does, it will come. It's great to see those guys get their money. They're well deserving of it. I tell everybody, sometimes people are questioning why they get it, but you've got to let somebody deserve it. Earn it. Let them earn it first before you question what they did do or didn't do before they got it. I think Brad has earned it.

Q. John, do you think you can win the skills challenge?
JOHN WALL: Yeah, skills challenge is all about fun. Make the right passes and make a jump shot, and be fine.

Q. Do you think the big guys play particularly --
JOHN WALL: We have a lot of skilled bigs in this league. It's funny because bigs always want to show the point guard skills, and us guards want to show the post-up skills like the bigs. It's kind of fun ad we're bringing some excitement to it.

Q. DeMarcus wants to see you in the skills championship finals.
JOHN WALL: He want to see me? I know he do. That's why we called him Boogie in college because he always thinks he can boogie. He got mad one day when Coach told him. He tried to dribble the ball up the court after the rebound, and Coach was like, no, we're not having that.

Q. Why do you think he's still kind of misunderstand and polarized as a player?
JOHN WALL: I think, for one, he's already bigger than everybody. He looks like a bully. He just comes with the mindset, he just plays with tenacity. He doesn't back down from anybody. He plays with so much emotion. Sometimes he doesn't get the benefit of the doubt when it goes the wrong way. Certain people might get this call, but he might not get it and he reacts a certain way.

Just like a reputation. When you get a reputation, everybody keeps that and holds that towards you, and hopefully you to try to change it around.

Q. What do you know about him that maybe the rest of the league and the fans --
JOHN WALL: He's a great person. He's all about first impressions. If you don't give him a first impression that's not well, you probably won't ever talk to him ever again.

Q. Cousins said that your friendly rivalry with him stems from the fact that he's better than you at everything? That was his words in that seat like a half hour ago.
JOHN WALL: It sounds pretty interesting. He knows the real answer.

Q. You played a very good game last week against Cleveland. What do you need as a team to secure your spot in the playoffs this year?
JOHN WALL: We've just got to stay healthy. It's the goal of any team in the league to stay healthy. We've just got to keep competing, keep playing on both ends of the floor as a team. The way we were playing the game, moving the ball defensively. If we can keep that up until the end of the season, we're fine.

Q. You have many fans in the Middle East. What's your message for them?
JOHN WALL: I'd like to say appreciate you all. Thanks for supporting me. Hopefully, I'll get the opportunity to get down there and meet some of my amazing fans.

Q. Some players said last year that your defensive coverage was constantly changing through the season because you're trying to find the answer. Has it been simplified this year? Is that part of the reason for your success this season?
JOHN WALL: Yeah, I think so. Coach Brooks just solidified it. We all just started kind of sticking to the game plan. He sticks with one game plan that he wants to run against certain teams, and we don't try to switch up coverages. I think everybody is just buying into it. Everybody buying into it as a group. When you have all five guys on the same page, it makes things a lot easier.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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