Friday night started out a little awkward for Walker Kessler.
The Utah Jazz center committed three quick turnovers in the first quarter against the Toronto Raptors and looked a little out of sorts after having missed the Jazz’s last game.
But when the second quarter started, Kessler was determined that he was going to find a way to right the ship.
“My touch really wasn’t there tonight in a lot of areas,” Kessler said. “In the beginning I was playing a little rusty so I decided that I was just going to try to impact the game in any way I can and the rebounds started kind of going my way and so I tried to continue to attack it.”
That’s putting it mildly.
By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, Kessler had matched a franchise record (set by Rudy Gobert) for rebounds in a half with 18.
The third-year center finished the night with a career-best 25 rebounds — 13 of them offensive rebounds — to go with a team-leading 18 points.
But it wasn’t just about the boards or the offensive side for Kessler on Friday night in Toronto. Kessler came oh so close to a triple-double by also notching a career-high eight blocks against the Raptors.
“I’m on Walker endlessly about his energy, his effort, flying around, being disruptive, being a energy giver to our team,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said, “and I think he’s answering that call.”
Ultimately, the Raptors came away with a 118-109 win over the Jazz, a result that Hardy said was decided by turnovers and the rest of the Jazz roster not taking pride in rebounding.
“As a group, we have to keep rebounding,” Hardy said. “I know you guys are going to say, ‘Walker rebounded great.’ It’s a team game. Walker had an amazing night on the glass...but we’ve got to do a better job as a group rebounding. Their wings crashing is ultimately why we didn’t win.”
The Raptors’ non-center players accounted for 18 of their 22 offensive boards, and Toronto was able to capitalize on its extra possessions, racking up 22 second-chance points.
“It’s everybody on their team,” Hardy said. “Take Scottie Barnes out and it’s two, two, three, two, two, three, one,” Hardy said, reading the box score.
“They’re crashing from all over the place, and they just got to more of those 50-50 balls than we did. We turn in 19 offensive rebounds, 13 of them are Walker, so I think we can do a better job as a team on the glass, and it’s got to be an emphasis going forward.”
While many of the Jazz players are still learning the importance of gang rebounding, it is apparent that Kessler just keeps getting better, a theme that has carried through the 2024-25 season for the Jazz.
The Jazz, who have lost four straight games and are 15-48 on the season, have three more games on the road — Philadelphia, Boston and Memphis — before returning home to face Toronto for the second and final time this season on March 14.