The Los Angeles Lakers could not have picked a better way to open their new chapter. Starting on the right foot is always important for a team with so many changes, and Redick’s side did so in every sense. The win, its margin, its stars… If there was an ideal script for the first night of the calendar, this was it. For now, the foundations are firmly in place.
And those foundations look solid, as the Lakers claimed a comprehensive 127-105 win over the Warriors and saw the three players around whom their future must revolve fit together naturally. They already knew that Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves worked well together, and although on paper their big summer gamble seemed a perfect fit, these things always need to be confirmed on the court. And although it is only the first of many games, Walker Kessler has already shown what he can bring to the team.
A perfect debut
In his debut with the Lakers, the centre demonstrated that he has everything needed to be the interior anchor they desperately required. With two first-class creators in the backcourt, not having a great finisher in the paint was in a way a waste of resources, but the former Jazz man arrived determined not to waste a single ball passed his way. So much so that he debuted without missing a single field goal attempt.
Whether cutting after the pick & roll, winning position in the paint or running as a trailer in transition, every ball Walker tried to take to the rim went in. Of course, how could they not, when 10 of his 12 successful field goals were dunks. The centre understood his role perfectly, focusing on appearing in the right spot and on offering himself every time he saw an option to receive the ball with an advantage. The quality of the passers (and the Warriors’ lack of height, it must be said) did the rest.
In doing so, Kessler became only the second Lakers player to make at least 12 field goals without a miss, following Wilt Chamberlain’s 14-for-14 performance in 1969. He was also the first Lakers player to record 10 dunks in a game since Shaquille O’Neal in 2003. And although he certainly has not arrived to replicate the numbers those two Hall of Famers posted during their time in Los Angeles, having his name mentioned alongside theirs is perhaps the greatest indication of just how remarkable his debut was.
In development