With the end of the regular season near, the Utah Jazz will most likely be without one of their key contributors. Center, Walker Kessler, has entered concussion protocols. Kessler has found a role for himself in Utah this year as one of the more promising young big men in the NBA. The Jazz are currently two games and a half out of the play-in picture. Without his presence to deter players at the rim, the Jazz’s road to the play-in just got much tougher. Especially with how well the Oklahoma City Thunder have been playing as of late.
Walker Kessler Enters Concussion Protocols
Kessler’s Season So Far
As alluded to already, Kessler is one of the more underappreciated rim-protectors in the league. So far this season, Kessler is averaging 9.2 points, 2.3 blocks, and 8.4 total rebounds per game. These are solid rookie numbers, especially from a defensive perspective. On top of this, the rookie was also tallying a league-best effective field goal percentage of 72.1 percent.
Kessler also possessed an impressive defensive rating of 111 to couple with an offensive rating of 140. As if that was not enough, he also averaged a true shooting percentage of 70.2 percent, which is also one of the best totals in the NBA. Kessler also has a defensive win share of +2.5 to go along with a defensive win share total of +1.5. While Walker Kessler may not be an All-Star, one can see his value to the Utah Jazz once you take a deeper dive into his impact.
Walker Kessler and His Impact for the Utah Jazz
Kessler has carved out a niche with the Jazz rotation. He forms one of the more underrated frontcourts in the entire league alongside first-time All-Star, Lauri Markkanen. While Markkanen’s weakness is at the defensive end of the floor, Kessler makes up for it with shot-blocking ability.
Not to mention, he also crashes the glass helping Utah’s third place ranking in terms of team rebounding at 46.3 per game as of April 4th. The Jazz started the year off strong, but have tailed off toward the end of the regular season. It has not helped that teams such as the Thunder, Lakers, and Timberwolves have all picked up the slack during this time frame. With all of this in mind, the Utah Jazz are going to miss Walker Kessler’s production dearly as the end of the season draws nearer.
