{"id":219612,"date":"2025-10-17T06:49:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T06:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/219612\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T06:49:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T06:49:15","slug":"walker-kessler-evolving-as-a-facilitator-for-the-jazz-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/219612\/","title":{"rendered":"Walker Kessler evolving as a facilitator for the Jazz \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier in the week, Walker Kessler said he\u2019d been watching how Jusuf Nurkic had been playing, that he\u2019d had the ball in his hands quite a bit and was being used as a facilitator in off-ball actions. <\/p>\n

Kessler\u2019s understanding was that the Utah Jazz\u2019s offensive schemes weren\u2019t going to change much once he was cleared from injury to play.<\/p>\n

Well, the Jazz closed out the preseason on a high note on Thursday night with a 132-129 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, and Kessler, who\u2019s been dealing with a left shoulder injury, made his preseason debut. Once the game was over, his mention of being used to move the ball seemed almost prophetic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re urging Walker to involve himself a little bit more in the offense and we are using him as a facilitator in a bunch of moments when we\u2019re playing off the ball,\u201d Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is part of Walker\u2019s evolution. There\u2019s going to be some good moments along the way, and there\u2019s going to be some tough ones, but we are trying to put him in those situations a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Utah Jazz forward\/center Lauri Markkanen (23) takes a shot while Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray (24) defends during a preseason NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) knocks the ball out of Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George\u2019s (3) hand as he goes up for a shot during a preseason NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) fights for the rebound during a preseason NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Portland Trail Blazers center Yang Hansen (16) and Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) go for the ball during a preseason NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz center Kyle Filipowski (22) passes the ball during a preseason NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"A referee watches as Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) dunks the ball during a preseason NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurki\u0107 (30) jumps up to take a shot during a preseason NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Portland Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday (5) dribbles the ball toward the basket while being defended during a preseason NBA game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) dunks the ball during a preseason NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) celebrates after dunking the ball during a preseason NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) looks around to make a pass during a preseason NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Portland Trail Blazers guard\/forward Rayan Rupert (21) jumps up to make a shot at the basket during a preseason NBA game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) dribbles down the court during a preseason NBA game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz players celebrate after winning 132-129 against the Portland Trail Blazers in a preseason NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz fans cheer during a preseason NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz forward\/center Lauri Markkanen (23) drives toward the basket during a preseason NBA game against the Portland Trailblazers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) jumps up for a basket during a preseason NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz guard Elijah Harkless (16), center, celebrates with teammates after winning 132-129 against the Portland Trail Blazers in a preseason NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz Head Coach Will Hardy hugs Portland Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday (5) after the Utah Jazz won 132-129 against the Portland Trail Blazers in a preseason NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) yells down the court during a preseason NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz Head Coach Will Hardy, left, high-fives Utah Jazz center Kyle Filipowski (22) during a preseason NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz guard Elijah Harkless (16) runs toward the basket with Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray (24) on defense during a preseason NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News \"\"Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) defends Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) as he goes up for a shot during a preseason NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News <\/p>\n

The assist leader for the Jazz on Thursday wasn\u2019t starting point guard Keyonte George (2), it wasn\u2019t backup point guard Walter Clayton Jr. (5) or even Lauri Markkanen (5).<\/p>\n

Kessler finished with a game-high eight assists, which put him incredibly close to a triple-double when added to his 14 points and 10 rebounds \u2014 and that was in just three quarters of action as Kessler rested throughout the final period.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just continuing to…I wouldn\u2019t say not care, but just don\u2019t be afraid to throw those passes,\u201d Kessler said. \u201cTonight, you know, it worked out, and it was fun. I enjoy making plays, and that was a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are always opportunities for centers to get some assists on dribble-handoff plays, especially when they\u2019re playing with quick shooters like Markkanen, but Kessler is opening up his game to include looking for backdoor cutters, slashers, guys who are popping out to the corner and even lobbing passes over the top of the defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like in practice I see Walk all the time, I\u2019ve seen the passing,\u201d George said of his teammate, \u201cso it\u2019s just about it coming out in the game, and I think he\u2019s actually, like, trusting his work now, for sure \u2014 being confident in his his passing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though the Jazz\u2019s preseason slate is over \u2014 Thursday\u2019s win being the only victory of their four-game preseason schedule \u2014 they have five days off before the regular season begins. <\/p>\n

Hardy and the coaching staff have looked at the entirety of the preseason schedule as an extended training camp, which means there are many more practice days ahead for the players before the 82-game grind begins.<\/p>\n

The Jazz will open up the 2025-26 season at the Delta Center next Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers. <\/p>\n

The game tips off at 7 p.m. MST.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Earlier in the week, Walker Kessler said he\u2019d been watching how Jusuf Nurkic had been playing, that he\u2019d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85,11898],"class_list":{"0":"post-219612","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-utah-jazz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}