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Walker Kessler Hype & Appreciation Thread

LogGrad98 said:
I have seen a few times in the past oh dozen games or so that he had a good move to the basket, even took it from the top of they key, and it looked like his instinct was to go at the rim, then he stopped and held the ball and looked confused as he looked for someone to pass to. It makes me think he has been told not to do that, to not look for the shot. He did it a couple of times when he had the ball near the top of the key and had an open look, no one around him, and he looked like he was getting ready to shoot, but then took like a single dribble and looked to hand it off instead. I can't help but think he has been instructed not to take those shots, although I cannot fathom why. A few times he had a nice move to the rim, could have given himself a nice little hook shot or bank shot or even layup, but instead looked to pass. I wish they would foster his offense more. If you watch his college highlights he had some reasonably nice moves around the basket with some nice little flip shots off the backboard and even some nice finger-roll layups and such. He is not Olajuwan, but he can make those moves reasonably well. I wish he had the green light even a fraction as much as Clarkson does. When he has the ball all alone at the top of the key or has a back to the basket opportunity in the paint he should go with it, why not? What are we gaining by stifling that instinct in him to try to score?
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We are saving it for the playoffs. . .
 
TheGoldStandard said:
Agree with all of this, which is why they should let him develop this aspect of his game. I think he has good enough footwork to command a double team in many situations. Basketball is such a mental/confidence game, let him build it up now and it will pay dividends in the future. I'd also like to see him learn to make the right pass after getting the ball on the post. I'd much rather see Kessler make a bad play while developing a post game that some of the early clock forced bs we have seen from Clarkson.

I would much rather see Kessler get more freedom and touches in the post than letting him take a three. While I'd like him to develop a 3, I'd rather see him refine his post game, and FT shooting first.
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Agreed. Really I would just love to see them let him take a shot when he is open. If he is at the free throw line-ish distance and his defender is fading off him to cover any cuts to the rim and he is wide open, just take the shot. He has shown good enough form he could hit those with some regularity and frankly it is probably a better shot than handing it off to Clarkson so he can take on the entire team 1 on 5 and throw up some off-balance crappy floater through a triple-team. If nothing else if Kessler can hit a few of these he will force his defender to stay on him which will just open up the paint for everyone else to operate more efficiently.
 
I agree but keep dreaming fellas
 
I think its unfair to assume he is being restricted in some ways.. but what we do know is they dont draw up plays for him that much.

Hardy mentioned in that latest interview that they are trying to unlock him offensively but also on the same breath seemed to emphasize increasing his defensive versatility as if that was the top priority (didnt say it, but got that sense).

I dont know how much you can/should put on his plate at once so I trust they nurture his play on both ends but focus is likely on defense right now.

Btw.. Hardy mentioned that in the OKC game he intentionally called Kessler to guard Giddey at one point, to push him out of his comfort zone.
 
Kessler won't be getting any post-ups called for him if he's only making half of his free throws. That's just the way it is. He's not Shaq.

Post-ups are inefficient as it is. Basically, you need to be absolutely ELITE at them. Otherwise they don't make much sense in 2023. Kessler needs to improve a hell of a lot at the FT line before trying to extend his offensive game. If he returns next season shooting under 60% again, it's unacceptable.
 
Tremendous Upside said:
Kessler won't be getting any post-ups called for him if he's only making half of his free throws. That's just the way it is. He's not Shaq.

Post-ups are inefficient as it is. Basically, you need to be absolutely ELITE at them. Otherwise they don't make much sense in 2023. Kessler needs to improve a hell of a lot at the FT line before trying to extend his offensive game. If he returns next season shooting under 60% again, it's unacceptable.
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Makes plenty of sense in 2023 for this jazz team this season.
We should be experimenting like crazy and letting guys try stuff.
 
Tremendous Upside said:
Posting up Kessler is not an "experiment". It's a straight up gift to the opposition at this point.
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Got any stats to back this up? I would love to see how many post up plays have been ran for him this season and what the result of those plays was.
Also, if you are right then all the more reason to run more post ups for him. If he sucks at it then lets try to improve and develop that part of his game for future games when maybe that could be another weapon and facet of his game to use to win. The rest of this season is supposedly about developing the young guys and seeing what they can do.
 
fishonjazz said:
Got any stats to back this up? I would love to see how many post up plays have been ran for him this season and what the result of those plays was.
Also, if you are right then all the more reason to run more post ups for him. If he sucks at it then lets try to improve and develop that part of his game for future games when maybe that could be another weapon and facet of his game to use to win. The rest of this season is supposedly about developing the young guys and seeing what they can do.
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He doesnt qualify for those stats since he has less than 10. I did manage to find 1 accidental low post play where he handled the ball and did a hookshot (vs Minny in February 8th) and hit it as well as 3 in game jump shots longer than 10ft (one of them the that 3 pointer) where he went 2/3.

But I can tell you 100% sure there is no evidence from games that he cannot do it except his free throws. Don't know about shootarounds and other practices and whats the word on those..

The two longer shots he has made were that 3 against OKC and one 18 foot jump shot against Cleveland in January 10th after Conley inbounded the ball to him (if you remember that play). No visual evidence of him missing a jumper that I could find (one looks like statistical error since the video shows a JC miss at the top of the key where one Kesslers miss is in the chart below). Dont know what that other miss is on the right side.

Shot chart for the year:
1677680204194.png
 
HermanG said:
He doesnt qualify for those stats since he has less than 10. I did manage to find 1 accidental low post play where he handled the ball and did a hookshot (vs Minny in February 8th) and hit it as well as 3 in game jump shots longer than 10ft (one of them the that 3 pointer) where he went 2/3.

But I can tell you 100% sure there is no evidence from games that he cannot do it except his free throws. Don't know about shootarounds and other practices and whats the word on those..

The two longer shots he has made were that 3 against OKC and one 18 foot jump shot against Cleveland in January 10th after Conley inbounded the ball to him (if you remember that play). No visual evidence of him missing a jumper that I could find (one looks like statistical error since the video shows a JC miss at the top of the key where one Kesslers miss is in the chart below). Dont know what that other miss is on the right side.

Shot chart for the year:
View attachment 13953
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Thanks for the info. Its like I thought. Sample size is too small to use (even if it kind of supports my position)
Tremendous Upside saying its a guaranteed turnover or whatever is just assuming something.
 
I did search some more and found 2 "sort of" post up plays against the Grizzlies on January 8th where he went 1-2 but they looked good and he was using his physicality in the second one against JJJ who tried to call for a foul on that play.

I say sort of post ups as they didn't look necessarily as they were planned that way. Second one is kinda too close to the basket to be called post up.. but it looks the part. Here are those two.

Video and Shotcharts | Stats | NBA.com

A video and Shot Chart interface with the ability to filter down to specific on court events and granular details.
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Video and Shotcharts | Stats | NBA.com

A video and Shot Chart interface with the ability to filter down to specific on court events and granular details.
www.nba.com www.nba.com
 
seattlejazzfan said:
either way, fish is right - the jazz clearly don't give a **** about losing (finally!), so why not throw it in the post to kessler 7 or 8 times a game and see what he can do with it.
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This. And get him a few corner 3's. Absolutely could not hurt anything at all, and hey with some confidence he could become a 32-35% corner 3 7 footer, which is not a bad thing to have.
 
LogGrad98 said:
with some confidence
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You want to build that confidence. If you're asking him to do things he's not ready for and repeatedly fails, his confidence will only fall.

Although Kessler looks like a quick learner, Hardy has consistently said that he takes the failures too hard (and he himself might've coached him sometimes too hard on some of those).
 
Udidthizz said:
Unlike volume chuckers like Steph and Dame, Walker carefully picks his moments (or rather picked his moment) to strike with perfect and deadly accuracy.
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Man, I’m already anticipating his moment for next year. Lol
seattlejazzfan said:
either way, fish is right - the jazz clearly don't give a **** about losing (finally!), so why not throw it in the post to kessler 7 or 8 times a game and see what he can do with it.
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Completely disagree. Give him that many post ups before he’s ready and at this stage will only teach him bad fundamentals. He just needs to continue to do the work it will come naturally. I think he really takes off in year three and he starts taking even more liberties than the year before, and the team as a whole takes off with him as a larger part of the offense.

I really believe this is something that needs to come naturally. Just need to be patient. Not like the jazz are going to be contenders next year anyways unless we make some crazy trades or something.
 
Thee Idiotic Minivan K said:
Man, I’m already anticipating his moment for next year. Lol

Completely disagree. Give him that many post ups before he’s ready and at this stage will only teach him bad fundamentals. He just needs to continue to do the work it will come naturally. I think he really takes off in year three and he starts taking even more liberties than the year before, and the team as a whole takes off with him as a larger part of the offense.

I really believe this is something that needs to come naturally. Just need to be patient. Not like the jazz are going to be contenders next year anyways unless we make some crazy trades or something.
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I agree with the idiot. Centers traditionally are the ones with the longest learning curve in the NBA, so we have to be patient about it.

Hardy talks so highly of Walker that I'm assuming he sees him as a two way center going forward and is prioritizing his development over that of others. Focus on everything you put in his plate and dont take shortcuts. He is already greatly contributing to winning, which is awesome for a rookie center.
 
LogGrad98 said:
This. And get him a few corner 3's. Absolutely could not hurt anything at all, and hey with some confidence he could become a 32-35% corner 3 7 footer, which is not a bad thing to have.
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But now we're in the Kyle Korver situation. He's on pace for a 100% season from 3, do we want to risk that?
 
I was celebrating Kessler being 3rd on KIA rookie ladder earlier this year.... but I think him still being at #3 is starting to feel disrespectful.

I mean Kessler is producing blocks and rebounds in pace with the best of them since he became the starter. Even for points, he isnt that far behind the average solid starter guys and his FG% is insane. And that is despite playing with 2 other 7 footers who also take their share of the boards. Like I get Paolo is ahead of him because of the total body of work.... but what the hell is Mathurin still doing ahead of him?

Mathurin producing 17.1/4.1/1.4 in 28.2 minutes per game for the season while shooting 43/32/80 and he is somehow superior in his role? Give me a break.

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Paolo Banchero leads the way as the Kia Rookie of the Year chase begins to head for the finish line.
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