Appearing in his first NBA game in nearly a full calendar year, Walker Kessler made his own Lakers made his preseason debut Tuesday and had 11 points and nine rebounds in just 16 minutes against Golden State, writes ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“It was great fun to be there again” said Kessler, who missed most of last season after shoulder surgery. “It’s been so long. To be honest, I was really nervous before the game. But to get out there and just play with the guys, it was a blast.”
Kessler has yet to play alongside the star playmaker Luka Doncicwho sat out Tuesday’s game, but the 25-year-old made a significant impact even without an active pick-and-roll partner. As McMenamin points out, the Lakers outscored the Warriors by 15 points when Kesler was on the floor and by 27 points when he wasn’t.
After the Lakers game, the big man Sandro Mamukelashvili while Kessler called it an “amazing” rim protector Austin Reeves said the club’s new starting center gave teammates “four or five really good looks” by rolling hard to the rim. Head coach Jay Jay Reddick also praised Kesler’s performance and told reporters he challenged the fifth-year center to be “relentless” in his role this season.
“For me, that means just crashing every time, trying to be on the field, inside, outside, playing hard, staying in the game, offensively and defensively,” Kessler explained. “So that’s going to be my goal for this year.”
We have more information on some notable preseason events across the league:
- The Spurs debuted his new three-guard starting lineup on Wednesday against Phoenix, w De’Aaron Fox, Castle Stefanand Dylan Harper opening game together Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama. How Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes (subscription required) The lineup was just 1 of 10 in the first five minutes combined, but when Fox, Castle and Harper played together for the final three minutes of the first half, they outscored the Suns by 11 points.
- According to McDonald (Link to Twitter), based on observations made Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson before Wednesday’s game, it looks like the starting five will likely be the one San Antonio uses to open the season — and that could have a relatively long leash. “I understand the narrative around it” Johnson said the three guards started together, trans Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “I always come to the same argument at the end of the day: (They’re) our three best players. I think they can handle the ball, pass, shoot, defend and make plays.”
- Jalen Duren did not sign a new contract with Pistons just two weeks ago, after training camp had already begun, but the All-Star center didn’t miss a beat in his preseason debut Wednesday against Minnesota, scoring 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting in just 15 minutes. By Amari Sankoff II of The Detroit Free Press and Hunter Patterson of The Athletic (free link) has details on Duren’s impressive return to action.
- Brian Lewis of The New York Post covers preseason debut Networks security guard Mikel Brown Jrwho came off the bench to score 15 points in 18 minutes against Miami in Brooklyn’s final fall exhibition game. After missing the team’s first three preseason contests with an ankle injury, the No. 6 overall pick impressed the head coach Jordi Fernandez in his first outing. “Just his pace and the way he moves, he looked great.” Fernandez said. “And it’s just the first few minutes, so he’s going to continue to improve and build from there. I like his communication, how engaged he was with his teammates. I thought it was a very well played 18 minutes for him.”
- U feature for ESPN.comBen Golliver identifies one thing the preseason revealed about each of the NBA’s 30 teams.
