Walker Kessler debuts, but Luka Doncic sits during Lakers preseason loss to Warriors
· Yahoo Sports
The plan for the Lakers had been to turn their fourth preseason game into a “dress rehearsal” for the upcoming 2026-27 NBA season.
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But that was not the case.
The Lakers did get the debut of center Walker Kessler, and that was a good sign for them to see their biggest acquisition of the summer play.
But on the flip side, Luka Doncic didn’t play in the game against the Golden State Warriors at T-Mobile Arena because he was resting.
“He’s not injured, just getting the night off,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
So, it was left up to Kessler, Austin Reaves and the rest of the available Lakers to sort things out Tuesday night.
And Reaves and Kessler were on point during the Lakers’ 101-89 loss to the Warriors.
In just his second preseason game, Reaves was doing his thing, scoring 28 points on 10-for-18 shooting, four-for-seven on three-pointers, seven assists, four rebounds and seven turnovers.
Read more:Why Lakers' Jake LaRavia isn't counting his made shots during preseason resurgence
Kessler had 11 points, nine rebounds, one blocked shot and one steal.
He began his night with a defensive rebound, which allowed the Lakers to set up their offense.
Kessler then cut to the basket, took a pass from Reaves and scored on a layup, his first two points of the preseason.
His second basket was a left-handed layup.
Kessler blocked a shot by Charles Bassey from behind, a sign of his defensive presence.
Another good sign was when Kessler got an offensive rebound and bounded back up for a dunk.
When the Warriors went to their small-ball lineup in the first quarter, it meant Kessler would be tested on defense, because his man was 6-2 Gary Payton II. It meant Kesser was being forced to play defense on the perimeter and not down low where the Lakers prefer him.
Still, Kessler held his own.
Lakers forward Arthur Kaluma drives the ball against Warriors forward Yaxel Lendeborg during the first half Tuesday. (David Becker / AP)The Lakers play one more preseason game, Friday night against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena and then open the regular season against the Warriors at home on Oct. 21.
Before the game, Redick said the plan was for the Lakers to “continue to work on us.”
“We have kind of circled this game, not as a full dress rehearsal, just in terms of our scout presentation, but we gave the guys a sample of that this morning and shoot-around,” Redick said. “Not as much game planning necessarily, but just kind of the sequencing of how we present prior to a game. We’ll do the same thing pre-game with a brief personnel tape. We just want to get better. I mean, that’s the biggest thing. We want to get healthy, we want to get better, we want to continue to build our fitness and cardio level and find a rhythm. And it’s been a little disjointed with having some guys out.”
Injury Update
Redick said rookie Cameron Carr, Ziaire Williams (right foot contusion), Collin Sexton (lower leg) and Adou Thiero “are still day-to-day” with their injuries.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.