Walker

Kessler

Kessler was back in the Jazz starting lineup after sitting out Friday’s loss to New Orleans, pushing Drew Eubanks to the bench. The third-year center recorded his fifth double-double in seven appearances and 17th of the season, ten more than his 2023-24 tally. Even with Utah being one of the NBA’s worst teams, Kessler’s bounce-back season has been one of the bright spots for a franchise looking to the draft lottery. Utah plays two more games without a back-to-back during Week 13. Hopefully, Kessler managers won’t have to worry about him getting another “rest” day.

Kessler is available after sitting out Friday’s loss to New Orleans for rest reasons. He’ll return to the starting lineup, with Drew Eubanks heading to the bench.

Kessler will get a rest night, which will open up a starting spot at center. Drew Eubanks should slide into that role, and he had eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks in 31 minutes as a starter on Sunday.

Kessler has reached double digits in rebounds in five straight games, recording four double-doubles. Providing 4th-round value for the season, the Jazz center has been one round better over the past two weeks. Utah’s upcoming schedule is the only negative for managers who have Kessler rostered. After Sunday’s game against the Nets, the Jazz only play two games during Week 12.

About 24 hours after he grabbed 16 rebounds against the other Florida team, Kessler eclipsed that and tied his season-high for boards in this game. Utah won on Saturday through an excellent offensive effort, but they got it done on the defensive end in this game as they allowed a season-low 92 points in the win. Kessler’s block numbers have been down recently, but he has been dominant on the glass over the last two weeks. They have four games next week, starting against Atlanta on Tuesday, which will give Kessler plenty of chances to swat some shots.

Kessler continued to have success despite the return of John Collins Saturday. The Jazz pretty much did whatever they wanted in the 36-point blowout victory and Kessler was a big part of that as he controlled the boards with 16 rebounds. The 23-year-old center has been a top-50 fantasy option this season because of his rebounding, blocks and field goal percentage.

Collins is poised to miss a fifth straight game, which means Walker Kessler should continue to see increased work. Kessler has averaged 9.3 points, 14.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks across his last four with Collins on the sidelines.

Kessler wasn’t able to do much to prevent Nikola Jokic from having a monster game, but he was still able to record his second straight double-double. He was able to slow down Jokic a bit, as he made less than half of his shot attempts for just the sixth time this season. Kessler has been a top-50 option in 9-cat leagues this season because of his dominance in rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage, all of which were on full display in this game. He’ll look to keep it going in New York on Wednesday.

Collins’ absence isn’t surprising considering the doubtful tag he received on Sunday, and he’ll be sidelined for a fourth straight game. Walker Kessler has seen his minutes increase over the last three with Collins out, and Kessler has averaged 14.3 boards in that span.

Kessler had less than 10 rebounds in three of their last four games, but in a matchup with two star 7-footers, he was able to dominate the glass. Kessler could’ve had a double-double, but he only made one of his six attempts from the free throw line. Free throws have always been an issue for him, but he usually doesn’t take enough for it to be an issue. Still, the boards and blocks have been there consistently and have been the strong points of his game. They have two more games this week, starting in Portland on Thursday.