Lakers waiting for preseason debuts of Walker

Entering the ultimate week of preseason video games, Lakers coach JJ Redick still is not sure when he’ll get a full look at his new-look workforce.

Lingering accidents to middle Walker Kessler (finger) and guard Collin intimacyton (decrease leg) are casting doubt on their availability for the Lakers’ fourth preseason sport Tuesday in Las Vegas against the Golden State Warriors.

Both offseason additions have yet to make their preseason debuts. While Kessler participated in follow Saturday after hitting his finger on the backboard, he was not in live drills. Redick said he was “not committed” to having Kessler accessible Tuesday against the Warriors.

The Lakers invested 4 first-round picks and a four-year, $130-million contract to get the star middle from the Utah Jazz. They’re relying on him to anchor their protection and add a much-desired lob risk for guard Luka Doncic. For now, the Lakers are getting a preview of what their workforce would appear like in the minutes without Kessler.

“It’s important to have two of the bigger wings out there for rebounding purposes,” said Redick, who said Kessler’s finger injury is minor enough for him to play through if this was the common season. “That was a concern, I think, coming into the year … trying to be a good defensive rebounding team. What does that look like with Walker not on the court? And I think in film, it’s pretty apparent that we need to do a better job of boxing out. Just like simple stuff and gang rebounding.”

The Lakers are twenty eighth in the preseason with 37.7 rebounds per sport and gave up 20 offensive rebounds to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday in their third sport of the preseason.

Wings Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams began the Lakers’ preseason opener and the defensive-minded gamers flashed their potential by hounding opponents the full size of the court. After starring in the opener with 13 factors and a steal against the Warriors, Williams missed the last two video games because of a foot contusion.

Second-year ahead Adou Thiero began instead and has a team-high 11 defensive rebounds in three video games. The high-flying wing’s growth this offseason caught the eye of his teammates, who are keen to throw him lobs for dunks and see him sky for rebounds.

Doncic has been high on him since the Lakers star hosted a five-day minicamp for the workforce in his home nation of Slovenia in August.

“I told him that the second pickup game in Slovenia, what I saw from him, just understanding the game better, reading the game, I think he improved a lot in the summer,” Doncic said.

With Kessler sidelined, the Lakers have alternated Kevon Looney and Sandro Mamukelashvili at middle. Looney leads the workforce with 17 rebounds in the preseason. Mamukelashvili, who performs both energy ahead and middle, has 11 assists in the preseason, exhibiting the kind of versatility that has Redick excited to set up the workforce’s “Mamu package” of performs and after-timeout units.

The lack of depth at middle might be a concern during the season, but they’re assured in their perimeter gamers to set the tone on protection.

“It makes my job a lot easier,” Looney said of the Lakers’ rotation of wings. “As long as I talk early, they’re going to get over the screen. I don’t have to be caught playing two. Those guys are able to recover, they’re able to block shots, they’re able to pop back and get rebounds. As a big, when your guards and wings are hustling like that, it makes your job a lot easier.”

intimacyton is “probably a little bit further behind” when it comes to returning in contrast to Kessler, Redick said. The Lakers signed the 27-year-old guard for additional scoring punch and have missed him as a third ballhandling option to supplement Doncic and Austin Reaves. With the best way groups strain, Redick said he’s aiming to have a number of ballhandlers on the court at all instances.

With coaches still tinkering with lineups in the preseason, turnovers turned a downside when the ballhandling choices dwindled. The Lakers average the fourth-most turnovers per sport (23.7) in the preseason.

Although the Lakers have yet to have all their gamers accessible, they aren’t missing confidence. Doncic said he knew the workforce, which welcomed 9 new gamers during a busy offseason, had championship potential effectively before training camp began.

“Since the first day,” Doncic said. “That simple. Since the first day everybody came together in Slovenia … I believed that we can win a championship.”