Luka Doncic’s partnership with Walker Kessler is still developing, and the Los Angeles Lakers’ final preseason game presented a specific challenge: getting their new center comfortable making decisions after defenses pressure the ball.
Speaking after Monday’s practice, Doncic pointed to Denver’s aggressive pick-and-roll coverage as an adjustment for Kessler. The Lakers are working through those situations as the two build experience together.
“Obviously it was a little bit different because they were blitzing the whole game,” Doncic added. “So I think it’s something new to him, but we’re working on that. I think he’s important in that area a lot.”
Doncic emphasized that time on the court together would help their timing, with communication also contributing. He noted that their preparation had not yet included another common defensive approach.
“But obviously we didn’t play against drop yet,” Doncic said.
The distinction matters because those coverages can ask very different things of the player setting the screen.
Walker Kessler’s decisions can help Lakers punish traps
Against a blitz, two defenders converge on the ball-handler. If Doncic gets a pass through that pressure to Kessler, the center can receive the ball with an advantage behind the trap.
That creates a short window to attack. Kessler can move toward the basket if the lane is open, or find a teammate if another defender steps across to stop him. Holding the ball gives the defense time to recover.
Drop coverage presents a different picture. The opposing big stays back to protect the paint, leaving the ball-handler and screener to work against a defender positioned closer to the basket. The timing of the screen, pass and roll becomes especially important.
Those are the general reads behind the adjustment Doncic described. Kessler’s contribution in that action extends beyond catching a lob: a quick pass to an open teammate can be the play that turns defensive pressure into a scoring opportunity.
Kessler had already addressed that learning process after Friday’s game, when he shared the court with Doncic and Austin Reaves.
“There’s obviously a transitional period playing with both of Luka and AR on the floor together,” Kessler said. “Kind of what I was saying before, kind of about blitzing ball screens and playing out of that pocket. We started to get it. I started to get it a little bit. Obviously Luka and AR are pretty used to that. But yeah, they’re such good offensive players and our ability to share the ball was fantastic, so it was a lot of fun.”
His answer specifically concerned handling the ball out of blitzed ball screens. That gives the Lakers a defined area to develop rather than an abstract question about whether their new teammates fit together.
Kessler has already shown another way to create shots
Kessler recorded six points, six rebounds and four assists against Denver, shooting 2-of-8 from the field.
Those assists are relevant to the role he described, although the box score alone does not establish which came against traps.
There was also an encouraging observation from his earlier appearance against Golden State. As covered in Lakers Daily’s report on Kessler’s debut, Reaves credited his forceful rolls toward the basket with opening perimeter shots.
The two situations illustrate different ways a center can influence a possession. A hard roll can pull help toward the rim without Kessler touching the ball. Receiving a pass behind a trap puts the next decision in his hands.
For Los Angeles, the useful measure of progress will be how consistently those possessions produce an advantage: an open finish, a clean perimeter attempt or another pass that keeps the defense moving.
Doncic’s comments identify the work still ahead of the partnership, and Kessler’s own assessment shows he recognizes it too.
