Walker Kessler showcases potential despite being ignored by Team USA

Walker Kessler didn’t get many minutes but still showcased potential dominance for Team USA.

Team USA made their debut against Puerto Rico on Monday night, as the two squared off for the first of Team USA’s preparation games for the season. The USA won 117-74. While the final score showed a blowout, the first half was anything but. Team USA shockingly struggled with Puerto Rico early in the game, to the point where Puerto Rico trailed by just seven points.

The reason for this was simple, bad defense. The Americans couldn’t stop shots from going in if their lives depended on it. Power forward George Conditt and guards Stephen Thompson and Tremont Waters did the damage, totaling 42 points between them.

At one point during the second quarter, Team Puerto Rico was shooting at 50%. Oddly enough, despite Team USA’s struggles, at no point did Steve Kerr and the company opt to put in Walker  Kessler.

No, instead Kessler wouldn’t see time until four-plus minutes to go in the fourth. During garbage time, Kessler made sure people noticed him. He scored five points two of four shooting from the floor, while pulling down four rebounds. He did all that in four official minutes.

Now, imagine what he’d do if he were given actual minutes. In fact, Kessler was the only player to not get more than 10 minutes in the game, save for Hart, who didn’t check into the game at all.

Kessler’s impact on the Utah Jazz last season was impressive, and you’d think that Kerr would get the man more reps, especially when the team struggled with defense early in the game. If that mentality doesn’t change, the Americans won’t be so lucky when better squads than Puerto Rico arrive.