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SALT LAKE CITY — Will Hardy stepped up to the podium in February and didn't wait for the questions to come. The Jazz head coach opened the first game back from the All-Star break by drawing up a Walker Kessler 3-point attempt — and the center just so happened to make it.
"Yes, the first 3 was designed for Walker. Yes, he bullied me into it when he made that 3 at the (All-Star) skills challenge. Yes, I'm very happy that it went in — though I may have created a monster," Hardy joked.
That was the first of three 3-point attempts for Kessler last season. In four preseason games, he's already topped that number, including a make from the corner during Monday's win over the New Zealand Breakers. Is this a case of a preseason experiment? Is there more bullying going on? Or is this the start of a regular trend?
A look back to a couple seasons before Kessler was even in the league may reveal the answer.
In 2019-20, John Collins was one of the game's best pick-and-roll partners. He had the third most pick-and-rolls for him in the league (5.1 per game) and scored a league-high 6.7 points per game on those plays. The result was Collins' best season of his career: 21.6 points per night on 64% shooting.
That season was the peak of a three-season run where he was one of the focal points of Atlanta's pick-and-roll scheme. But by the end of his run in Atlanta, he was essentially being used as a floor spacer (and a struggling one at that — the 40% mark he hit from 3-point range during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons crashed down to 29% in 2022-23) for Clint Capela's rolls to the rim.
Kessler doesn't want to see that same thing happen in Utah.
"Obviously, John's a great shooter, too, but you don't want to take away from his rolling ability and his above the rim presence," Kessler said.
One solution: Kessler can serve as a spacer, too. That may seem a bit far-fetched now, but there's precedent for a big man with a shooting touch developing into a bonafide outside threat — Milwaukee's Brook Lopez being the most recent example. Kessler is trying to have the same type of transformation.
Walker Kessler turns his defense into offense 🚫🔥
— NBA (@NBA) October 17, 2023
Watch Jazz/Breakers LIVE on the NBA App: https://t.co/WfH3FJ6tZspic.twitter.com/kRxHUCW6nj
Kessler's 3-pointer Monday came off a Collins roll to the hoop. The Breakers' defenders crashed down to stop Collins from reaching the basket and left Kessler wide open in the corner. A few more — OK, maybe a lot more — makes off that type of look, and defenders may have to think twice before leaving the 7-footer open.
That's what he's hoping will happen, at least. In order for that to happen, though, he knew he needed to find more consistency with his shot. He spent the summer trying to do just that.
Over the last couple years, Kessler had noticed he was bringing the ball up and behind his head during his release. That created an almost catapult-like motion that led to a hard, straight-line shot with little touch. This summer's plan? Fix that.
"I just focused on keeping the ball in front of me where I can see the ball," Kessler said. "Then that forward movement doesn't come from my arm, it comes from my wrist, so I have a lot more touch on the shot."
Kessler also changed his footwork. Instead of sliding into his shot attempts, especially the corner-3 looks, he worked on picking up each foot and stepping into position for the shot. That creates better balance, a better base and ultimately a better shot — and has helped him rep out game-like actions.
So far, the results have been promising.
"He has good form, he has good rotation, the rotation arc on the ball looks good," big man sharpshooter Kelly Olynyk said. "He's made a bunch of them in workouts, practice, stuff like that. So it's just about getting that game timing and feel down. But he's gonna be open, guys are gonna leave him open, so if he wants to shoot, he can."
Does that mean the Jazz want him taking six or seven 3s per game? No, but they don't want him to be shy, either.
"The fact that he feels confident in it is the biggest plus," Hardy said. "He's shot the ball well in practice, he's shooting the ball with confidence. We have talked about him trying to mix in some 3s at different times during the game depending on where he is in the court, particularly those corner 3s."
And, who knows, in time, Kessler really could become that monster.
