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Game Thread Utah Jazz vs New Zealand Breakers - Oct 4th 7:00 PM (MT) (Preseason)

Added to Calendar: 10-04-24

KqWIN said:
I never thought much of Kessler’s athleticism, I always thought he was ground bound and slow, so maybe that informs my opinion….but I didn’t notice any difference in the way he was moving or his athleticism.

For me, the path for Kessler to return to his rookie year levels and go beyond that is through establishing himself as a big man who does the big man things. He was never a high potential prospect in my eyes, but even his rookie level play is a very nice player to have. Last night was a little hit and miss in those areas imo. I think there were some plays where he was intentionally physical and that was good. On the other hand, it’s still very evident that it’s not his instinct to seek out contact. This is especially the case on offense. Regardless of his weight, he needs to use his body more. His tendency is to fade away from the contact which causes problems. Rudy was goofy as hell, but he tried to go to the basket every time and that led to lots of FT’s at least. I don’t know if Kessler is afraid of contact or afraid of going to the line, but that needs to be fixed.

On the bright side, loved seeing good decision making out of the short roll and high post. If he can expand his game here it will do wonders for his offensive game and help his teammates out a ton. While I think an attempt to be Brook Lopez is counterproductive…striving to be like Hartenstein offensively is a worthwhile way endeavor that he can add to his game.
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He just isnt good at going up in traffic with bodies at him. When he has an open lane to the rim, he can get up just fine. I still think it's mostly a product of being terrified of the FT line than anything else.
 
KqWIN said:
I never thought much of Kessler’s athleticism, I always thought he was ground bound and slow, so maybe that informs my opinion….but I didn’t notice any difference in the way he was moving or his athleticism.

For me, the path for Kessler to return to his rookie year levels and go beyond that is through establishing himself as a big man who does the big man things. He was never a high potential prospect in my eyes, but even his rookie level play is a very nice player to have. Last night was a little hit and miss in those areas imo. I think there were some plays where he was intentionally physical and that was good. On the other hand, it’s still very evident that it’s not his instinct to seek out contact. This is especially the case on offense. Regardless of his weight, he needs to use his body more. His tendency is to fade away from the contact which causes problems. Rudy was goofy as hell, but he tried to go to the basket every time and that led to lots of FT’s at least. I don’t know if Kessler is afraid of contact or afraid of going to the line, but that needs to be fixed.

On the bright side, loved seeing good decision making out of the short roll and high post. If he can expand his game here it will do wonders for his offensive game and help his teammates out a ton. While I think an attempt to be Brook Lopez is counterproductive…striving to be like Hartenstein offensively is a worthwhile way endeavor that he can add to his game.
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Was thinking the other day that maybe Meyers Leonard is a better cautionary tale for what happens to centers that prioritize being a stretch big over doing what bigs in the NBA ought to do.
 
idiot said:
Was thinking the other day that maybe Meyers Leonard is a better cautionary tale for what happens to centers that prioritize being a stretch big over doing what bigs in the NBA ought to do.
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Funny, recently I had a similar thought about Mo Bamba.
 
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