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Walker Kessler Thoughts?

J

JazzFanNBama

Well-Known Member
Wanted to see what you guys thought of Kessler. Being an Auburn fan it’s nice to finally have a former Auburn Tiger on the Jazz roster. I know it’s only been 1 preseason game, but just curious of where y’all think his ceiling is and if you think he can contribute.
 
The thing that stands out to me about Walker Kessler is how well he moves for a big man. He's really light on his feet, and he has great timing getting off the floor to challenge and block shots. However, as an NBA player, he's really young and has a lot of work to do to develop. Rudy Gobert was very raw coming into the league, but he also had a very competitive attitude and had a very strong desire to be great. He really worked hard on his body and paid attention to detail. He also played very hard. The question with Kessler is whether he has that same competitive drive, whether he really wants to work on his body, and if he wants to reach his potential. He seems somewhat lowkey.

Otherwise, coming into the draft he reminded me of Jakob Poeltl, but with quicker feet.
 
Kessler has the unfortunate position of following in the foot steps of one of the best defenders of all time. That said his defense was completely underwhelming. Luckily he has lots of time to figure it out and in my opinion one of the best Bigs coaches in the NBA.
 
He looks fluid which is nice. I'm going to be patient with him, but I dont think he is anything more than a backup. He seems smart and high IQ. Maybe once he really develops his body he will be able to have more of a defensive presence.
 
SoberasHotRod said:
Kessler has the unfortunate position of following in the foot steps of one of the best defenders of all time. That said his defense was completely underwhelming. Luckily he has lots of time to figure it out and in my opinion one of the best Bigs coaches in the NBA.
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I will never be impressed by a scorer or defensive big ever again after watching Mitchell/Gobert.
 
Alexander Walker.
Horton Tucker.
Kessler Thoughts.
 
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t really see the light on his feet stuff. He’ll be one of the slowest guys in the league.
 
He was a bright spot for sure. He got some glowing reviews in write-ups and warranted. Most rooks don’t come in that hot just ask Agbaji. Good hands, good instincts, good BBIQ. And yeah I thought he moved well for a big. As others have said, he should carve out a decent career.

That being said, I think he lacks the athleticism, drive and toughness to ever achieve All Star status. He’s not Gobert and he’s not even Poeltl yet. We’ll see, I mean it was hard to imagine Gobert ever becoming great his rookie year as well. I mean he’s not explosive but he does have that three ball in the bag so who knows, the next Mehmet Okur?
 
Release the Kraken said:
He was a bright spot for sure. He got some glowing reviews in write-ups and warranted. Most rooks don’t come in that hot just ask Agbaji. Good hands, good instincts, good BBIQ. And yeah I thought he moved well for a big. As others have said, he should carve out a decent career.

That being said, I think he lacks the athleticism, drive and toughness to ever achieve All Star status. He’s not Gobert and he’s not even Poeltl yet. We’ll see, I mean it was hard to imagine Gobert ever becoming great his rookie year as well. I mean he’s not explosive but he does have that three ball in the bag so who knows, the next Mehmet Okur?
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Kessler and Abaji had about the same level of performance in the opener....
 
footawn said:
I’d like to see some rebounding. We got killed on the glass against Toronto.
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No we didn't. Both teams had the same number of offensive rebounds. When one team is making shots and the other is missing (to the tune of a 30+ point loss) you are going to have significantly less defensive rebounding opportunities on one end.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
No we didn't. Both teams had the same number of offensive rebounds. When one team is making shots and the other is missing (to the tune of a 30+ point loss) you are going to have significantly less defensive rebounding opportunities on one end.
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What’s the significance of tying them for offensive rebounds, then, when we had many more opportunities to collect them?

Toronto had 45 chances to collect offensive rebounds and did so 13 times (29%). We had 65 chances at offensive rebounds and grabbed 13 (20%).

Flipping that over, we grabbed 76% of defensive rebounds and they grabbed 74%.
 
i am (was?) bullish on walker kessler. i thought he was incredible at Auburn, but it must have been the speed of the game and the huge upgrade in talent that rendered him basically useless on the defensive end. he looked completely lost and out of his league. it's one preseason game, so to draw any conclusions about the kind of player he'll be just from that one game would be the height of stupidity, but it wasn't a promising debut.
 
seattlejazzfan said:
i am (was?) bullish on walker kessler. i thought he was incredible at Auburn, but it must have been the speed of the game and the huge upgrade in talent that rendered him basically useless on the defensive end. he looked completely lost and out of his league. it's one preseason game, so to draw any conclusions about the kind of player he'll be just from that one game would be the height of stupidity, but it wasn't a promising debut.
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It's important to remember it took Rudy a year to really work on his body before he could be viable (or maybe Corbin just never really gave him a fair shot, idk).

I think it's pretty clear Kessler isnt going to be a shot blocking god in the NBA. I think the Poetl comps looks like they make more sense though. Hopefully he can pack on some solid muscle/strength and retain what looks like to be solid mobility and you have yourself a viable backup.
 
seattlejazzfan said:
i am (was?) bullish on walker kessler. i thought he was incredible at Auburn, but it must have been the speed of the game and the huge upgrade in talent that rendered him basically useless on the defensive end. he looked completely lost and out of his league. it's one preseason game, so to draw any conclusions about the kind of player he'll be just from that one game would be the height of stupidity, but it wasn't a promising debut.
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Agreed. However, he made good cuts on offense, and his hands are good. At Auburn he relied on length too much and will have to get a stronger base and have better defensive fundamentals. One game tells us very little, particularly with so much change. Hopefully there will be some good practice time during the long gap between games after tonight.

I think he'll come around.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
It's important to remember it took Rudy a year to really work on his body before he could be viable (or maybe Corbin just never really gave him a fair shot, idk).

I think it's pretty clear Kessler isnt going to be a shot blocking god in the NBA. I think the Poetl comps looks like they make more sense though. Hopefully he can pack on some solid muscle/strength and retain what looks like to be solid mobility and you have yourself a viable backup.
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I watched a lot of Rudy his first year in the league since his G league team was located in the city I was living in at the time. He wasn't a smart player, but he was incredibly aggressive. He used his aggressiveness and huge wingspan to create an amazing presence near the rim. He fouled a lot and turned the ball over a lot, but had a defensive presence basically from day 1.

I'd like to see Kessler just be much more aggressive tonight. He only had 1 foul last game. If he's not blocking shots, I'd like to see him at least make the other team feel him.
 
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