After the preseason finale, Austin Reaves told Lakers On SI that the new core of Luka Dončić, Reaves and Walker Kessler should expect “some growing pains,” mostly because they haven’t had many reps together. He’s right that the reps are missing. But “chemistry” is the wrong word for what could actually go wrong before the Warriors come to Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.
Three Players, One Half
The worry is easy to see. Dončić, Reaves and Kessler shared the floor for only one half during the five-game preseason.
Kessler missed the first three Lakers preseason games because of a left pinky injury, and Dončić sat out the Las Vegas game against Golden State. That game had been meant as a dress rehearsal for the season.
The whole roster is also new. With LeBron James departing in free agency and the Lakers bringing in nine new players, Reaves is now the longest-tenured player on the team.
Even the lineup around the trio isn’t settled: Redick has not committed to a starting lineup yet for opening night, and he started Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle in the finale instead of Quentin Grimes.
The one long look at the trio didn’t go well. In a 121-106 loss to Denver, Kessler finished with six points on 2-for-8 shooting, six rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and one steal in 31 minutes, and he was outscored by the three-time MVP 17-6.
Most of the Chemistry Already Exists
Calling this a chemistry problem treats three relationships as equally unknown, and they aren’t. The most important one, between the two guards who will handle almost every possession, was tested across a full 53-win season together.
What’s left is each guard learning to play with a center whose offensive job is simple. Kessler isn’t being asked to run sets or create his own shot. The Lakers want him to own the paint, protect the rim and finish rolls to the basket.
That kind of partnership tends to come together quickly, and it already showed signs of working. The Lakers won the 16 minutes he was on the floor by 15 points in his debut. Afterward, Reaves said Kessler “created probably four or five really good looks for us from 3 just rolling hard.”
Denver coach David Adelman saw the same thing from the other bench. After his team’s win, he said the Lakers “all fit each other really well.”
The Real Question Is a Body, Not a Bond
Taken together, the evidence points away from chemistry and toward Kessler himself. Kessler, who needed season-ending surgery on a torn left labrum in November, went 347 days without playing basketball before this preseason.
The Denver game looked like rust, not a bad fit. His timing was off against the best passing center in the league in his first long stint in almost a year. Missing reps with Dončić didn’t cause that.
Rust matters more for the Lakers than it would for most teams. They gave up two future unprotected first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps on top of a four-year, $130 million contract to get him.
They also have little cover behind him, because Kevon Looney signed a one-year deal worth $3.9 million to serve as Kessler’s backup at center. If Kessler is slow to get back to full speed, the Lakers’ defense has no fallback.
When Kessler was healthy last season, the fit question was mostly answered: he averaged 14.4 points on over 70 percent shooting with 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 blocks in his five games with Utah. A sample that small proves nothing, but it is evidence about the player, and that’s where the uncertainty actually lies.
Conditioning, Not Chemistry, Decides the Opening Weeks
The growing pains Reaves expects are real, but they’re the small kind. Expect a few weeks of missed reads in pick-and-roll coverage, while the Dončić-Reaves core stays steady.
The bigger risk is whether Kessler can play 30-plus minutes a night against elite centers without fading, and whether Redick can settle the forward spots around him.
Here’s what would change that view. If the Lakers lose Kessler’s minutes in November while he’s fresh and putting up good individual numbers, the problem is coordination, and Reaves’ framing wins.
If his minutes are strong early and drop off as his workload grows, the problem was conditioning all along. A team can build chemistry by practicing. Getting a center back into game shape after nearly a year away takes longer.
Source: Lakers On SI
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