Last season, our perimeter defense was a mess but we were much tougher at the rim. Right now, it's ALL a mess. Some of it is Hardy's disastrous zone experiment, but it's not the only thing.
As a rookie, Kessler was a force down low as a rim protector. He was surprisingly athletic and had impeccable timing. No layup or weak flip shot was safe when he was nearby.
This season he's getting straight abused in the post by guys like... (checks notes) Drew Eubanks? I mean... WTF. Walker looks slow, soft, nervous and more ground bound. He's constantly losing the off-ball battles for position near the rim.
It's super early so I'm not that worried yet, but something is really off with this kid and I don't think the main cause is the arrival of Collins. John isn't stopping Walker from sending Eubanks' silly, soft jump hooks into the 30th row. In another post I suspected that Kessler's Team USA experience may have been counterproductive, since he was treated like an end-of-bencher and ignored, but who knows.
It's not just Walker, though. Overall we're doing many of the things bad defensive teams always do. The guards go under screens when they shouldn't, and look like they're moving underwater when they go over. As the ballhandler gets separation, we immediately overhelp like crazy and give up an open 3pt shot somewhere else.
We get cute all the time instead of working hard – too many guys are constantly out of position, hunting for flashy steals in imaginary passing lanes. Just stay between your man and the basket. This isn't the G-League, NBA players will kill you if you keep reaching like an idiot.
