Lakers are one injury away from having worst defense in the NBA

The Los Angeles Lakers paid a massive price in order to get their hands on Walker Kessler this offseason. In fact, they had to overpay to acquire his services, which puts a lot of pressure on the 25-year-old big man moving forward. Now, he will be the starting center on a team led by a one-two punch in the backcourt with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

It would appear, however, that the Lakers are going to be levying way too lofty expectations on Kessler, especially on the defensive end. While he is definitely one of the best rim deterrents in the league from both the numbers and eye test standpoint, he is not exactly the most durable athlete there is. Simply put, L.A. is going to be so dependent on him to anchor their D that they are basically doomed if he hits the deck.

After playing 74 games in his rookie season and missing just eight, Kessler has become one of the more injury-prone big men in the league. Over the next three seasons, he would suit up in just 127 out of 246 regular season games, missing nearly half of the available outings during that period. This past season, Kessler suited up for just five games in total.

Walker Kessler has a concerning injury history but a lot of potential

Kessler definitely made strides in recent years, but his limited availability casts a huge question mark on his ability to be a true anchor on a title aspirant, especially in a Western Conference race led by teams with elite big men.

If he gets injured, the Lakers are looking at a center rotation consisting of Sandro Mamukelashvili and Kevon Looney. The former is not exactly known as a defensive stopper. The latter is one, but he is old and is likewise coming off a season marred by injuries.

Just like last season, the Lakers are going to bid for a playoff spot with their offense as their main selling point. Their thinking is that they made a huge defensive reinforcement in Kessler, and while that is true, they seem to have forgotten that if the injury-prone big man gets sidelined, they might as well end up having the worst defense in the league given their personnel.