Walker Kessler had a bit of a rough homecoming on Sunday afternoon as he faced the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City for the first time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. After starring in the Lakers' first two games of the season, Kessler's production fell off in his third game of the campaign, finishing with just two points, seven rebounds, and one block in 28 minutes of play.
The Lakers did mount a furious comeback and defeat the Jazz, 132-123, so in the end, it's not like Kessler's poor night doomed his team. But of course, this is a far cry from the kind of game the Purple and Gold need him to have on a nightly basis.
But in true team fashion, Lakers star Luka Doncic simply reassured Kessler that they have his back and he just needs to shrug off this substandard performance.
“Obviously it wasn’t his best game. But we won the game and he had two fantastic first games. I told him just move on, we won this game and we got your back,” Doncic said in his postgame presser, via Khobi Price of the California Post.
Kessler averaged 24 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and 4.0 blocks through his first two games for the Lakers, which were wins against the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers, respectively.
One would have thought that a matchup against the Jazz would be another opportunity for him to feast. After all, Jusuf Nurkic is out and the Jazz are starting Jaren Jackson Jr. at center, which isn't his natural position.
But Kessler did admit that his emotions were too much to handle, and the Lakers did pick up the slack in the end. Doncic, in particular, went off for 52 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists, and the Lakers have now moved to 3-0 on the season.