Walker Kessler Praises Lakers’ Defense In His Absence

The Los Angeles Lakers suit up on Tuesday night for their fourth of five preseason games, and the status of starting center Walker Kessler remains up in the air. Kessler (finger) is yet to take the court for the Lakers in the preseason, leaving the Lakers to lean on Kevon Looney and Sandro Mamukelashvili for 48 center minutes.

Still, the Lakers are 2-1 with two wins over the Sacramento Kings. And while preseason stats are both a small sample size and a minimal factor towards the actual quality of a team, the Lakers do have the seventh-best defensive rating in the league. Kessler took note of this when discussing what he’s seen from L.A. in his absence, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:

“I mean it’s frustrating, but it’s also a really positive to see how well they’ve done defensively without me out there,” he said. “Our wing defenders … Matisse [Thybulle] and Ziaire [Williams] and Q [Quentin Grimes] and even Jake [LaRavia] are just great on-ball defenders. And I mean Luka [Doncic] and AR [Austin Reaves] are great off-ball, very smart players.”

Defensive activity on the perimeter already stands out far more than it did in previous seasons for L.A., and that’s largely thanks to the players Kessler mentions in Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle. The Lakers had Marcus Smart last season, but his lateral quickness and length didn’t jump off the page as much as those players do.

L.A. being able to hold their own defensively without Kessler in the lineup could be a very good sign for a team trying to improve on their No. 20 defense from last season, and Kessler immediately noticing that could help improve things when he’s on the floor, too.

A rim protector having trust in his perimeter defenders — and vice versa — is exactly where a defense needs to be in order to function as one unit.

Walker Kessler gives football comparison for his defensive role

Kessler spoke about what he’s going to bring to the Lakers, especially on the defensive end. And in the height of football season, he evoked defensive positions from the NFL to determine what his role will be in L.A.

“Obviously Luka and AR, they’re very special players, especially offensively,” Kessler said after a recent practice. “So them kind of taking the lead of the offense. But I’ve been asked to kind of be the defensive anchor. So that’s going to be my role, to kind of be the linebacker of the defense, kind of take control of that.”