The Utah Jazz will face the Los Angeles Lakers in their 14th game of the season. They will face one of the NBA's best big men in Anthony Davis, so it would be nice to have their whole frontcourt available for their upcoming matchup, but that won't be the case.
As reported by The Salt Lake Tribune's Andy Larsen, the Jazz will be without Walker Kessler again against the Lakers. This will be his fifth straight game missing this season.
Walker Kessler is still out for tomorrow's game vs. the Lakers due to hip bursitis.
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) November 19, 2024
Kessler would likely have been the Jazz's best bet in a one-on-one matchup against Davis. Davis' reputation precedes him for him, and he's played so well that he's garnered some MVP buzz for himself, and the Lakers have benefited from this as they've started 9-4.
With him out, it brings some cause for concern, but it also gives the Jazz some things to ponder.
Could Kessler's injury be problematic?
At first, it seemed like Kessler's hip injury was a day-to-day issue that would eventually be worked out in due time, but with the few updates that have come out other than confirmation that he'll miss games, it's starting to become worrisome how little is known about what is going on with him.
Kessler started the season with a chip on his shoulder. He was coming off a disappointing second season, which further led to trade rumors all offseason. He should have had an ample chance to prove he's still a franchise cornerstone in the making, but this injury has only gotten in the way.
This shouldn't be blown out of proportion, but now that he's about to miss his fifth straight game, one can't help but ask, what is going on?
It is very inconvenient to see Kessler go through this, but it's not all bad.
The Jazz will get to experiment more without Kessler
No one is rooting for Kessler to stay sidelined, but his injury paves the way for the Jazz to see what they have with their new starting frontcourt trio of Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, and Kyle Filipowski. Collins and Filipowski have been some of the Jazz's better surprises this season, which bodes well for both their future and trade rumors.
Utah has only recently stumbled upon this lineup, as it wouldn't have happened without Kesser's injury (and Filipowski's rise). Even so, it's showing some promise. They have a net rating of plus-3.9, they play at a pace of 104.34 (faster than most of the Jazz's three-man lineups), and they have a true shooting percentage of 64.4%, per NBA.com.
It's not all translating into many wins (yet), but the Jazz might have something legitimately promising here. It's a shame they've found this new formula without Kessler, but if it works, there's not much harm in seeing it through.
The real question is: Does this mean Kessler will only add to the Jazz's versatility, or will he be traded because of it?