Walker Kessler made a strong first impression in his preseason debut on Tuesday, scoring 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting, grabbing nine rebounds, and recording one block and one steal in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 101-89 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas. He played only in the first half.
“I mean, it was a lot of fun being out there again,” Kessler said. “It’s been so long. Before the game I was actually pretty nervous, to be honest. But getting out there and just playing with the guys, it was a blast.”
A long road back
Kessler had last appeared in an NBA game on 31 October of last season, when he played for the Utah Jazz. He then underwent season-ending surgery in November to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. The game on Tuesday came 347 days later.
The Lakers acquired the 25-year-old in an offseason sign-and-trade. To complete the deal, they committed two future unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps, on top of a four-year, $130 million contract for Kessler.
Early in training camp, he jammed his left pinkie finger on the backboard while trying to block a shot. That injury kept him out of the Lakers’ first three preseason games. Kessler said he sat out for “precautionary” reasons. By playing on Tuesday, he will still have the chance to appear in two exhibition games, including a home match against the Denver Nuggets on Friday, before the regular season opens against the Warriors on 22 October.
Immediate impact on the court
Kessler’s effect on the game was clear. The Lakers outscored the Warriors by 15 points in the 16 minutes he played. In the 32 minutes he sat, Golden State outscored L.A. by 27.
“I think I have a certain presence on the floor, but I think my teammates around me did a great job of playing defence on the perimeter,” Kessler said. “I think we shared the ball really well tonight … especially in the first half. It was a lot of fun.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick praised the five-year veteran’s performance.
“I think he’s a great fit for our team,” Redick said. “Thought he did a nice job of running the floor, crashing, had some terrific rebounds in traffic, protected the rim. Just really, really good first half from him.”
Redick expects that level of effort whenever Kessler takes the floor.
“The word I’ve used with him, the challenge, is just being relentless,” Redick said. “Just in terms of the motor on both ends. Running the floor, diving, screening, crashing the glass.”
Kessler said he has embraced that message.
“JJ and I talked, and that’s kind of what we came up with this year: ‘relentless,'” Kessler said. “And for me, that means just crashing every time, trying to be a presence in the paint, inside, outside, play hard, don’t take plays off, on the offensive end and defensive end. So that’s going to be my goal for this year.”
Depth issues in the second half
The Lakers were missing five players on Tuesday. Redick rested Luka Doncic, and Cameron Carr, Ziaire Williams, Adou Thiero and Collin Sexton all dealt with various “day-to-day” injuries, according to Redick.
“It was amazing,” said Lakers forward Sandro Mamukelashvili, who scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. “He’s an amazing rim protector. He’s so tough, physical. He plays hard. So it was amazing having him there. … I think he brings a lot of impact. He had a great, great first game and I’m sure he’s going to get better from here.”
Lakers guard Austin Reaves led the team with 28 points and seven assists. He said Kessler was key to the team’s offensive flow.
“I mean he created probably four or five really good looks for us from 3 by just rolling hard,” Reaves said. “Nobody’s going to give him credit for it, but him putting pressure on the rim and roll opportunities are going to make the [opposing] big guy sink … and we’re going to get wide-open 3s. We had quite a bit of them tonight.”
Once Kessler left the floor, the Lakers struggled. They were outscored 51-26 in the second half and committed 18 turnovers. Backup guards Bronny James (four), Chris Manon (three) and Jaden Hardy (two) were among the main culprits.
Redick explained the team’s ball-handling plan.
“If one of our three primary handlers are out,” Redick said, “one of those guys is going to play. It’s too taxing with full court pressure for AR and Luka to just do that solely so we’ll keep trying to get better and I know those guys, their intent is there. We’ll just keep [trying]…”
Redick acknowledged the team’s struggles after halftime.
“It just was not a good offensive product in the second half, and I’ll look at what I can do better with that, too.”