LOS ANGELES — Gravity is a force of attraction that pulls objects towards one another. In basketball, the term is typically associated with an offensive player.
Stephen Curry, as he orbits the half-court, exerts one of the strongest gravitational pulls in NBA history. Luka Dončić has a different kind of mass — if you will — that pulls defenders toward him as he methodically roams the top of the key, waiting to initiate action.
Pulling defenders closer to you and away from their assignments is what
makes offensive gravity so advantageous in basketball. But what about on defense? Can the same laws of physics be applied to a defender tasked with deterring objects of mass?
Matisse Thybulle thinks so of Walker Kessler.
“You talk about gravity on offense, right? With Luka and all them,” Thybulle said during the dog days of Lakers training camp. “On defense, [Kessler] kind of creates that sense for us [on the perimeter]. Walker being able to tell us where to be and letting us know where he’s at, lets us know how things are orbiting around him.”
Thybulle is among the league’s most articulate and intelligent players, which is why an analogy like this isn’t just empty platitudes.
Asked about Thybulle’s metaphor, Lakers head coach JJ Redick, trying to do the calculus in his head, said, “I would have to really think about the physics of that…on the opposite end of the court…gravity usually attracts bodies…I think Matisse is saying the opposite thing, but I’ve also spent enough time around Matisse the last five years to know he’s a lot smarter than me…so, I’ll have to figure that one out.”
Redick got the gist. That’s why Kessler came to Los Angeles for the hefty price of two first-round picks, two first-round pick swaps, and $130 million over four years. The Lakers (and Dončić) have been starved for a rim-protecting talent like him for so long.
Kessler played just 47 minutes across two preseason games due to a jammed finger from slapping the backboard in practice. In that time, he snagged 15 rebounds and had three blocks and two steals.
“Defensively, Walker’s really done a nice job…of using his voice,” Redick added. “He has a pretty good understanding of what we want to do defensively. He’s going to be such a big piece of what we’re trying to do on that end. He’s going to be able to really quarterback on that backline for us.”
The addition of Kessler and Kevon Looney gives Redick the option to pivot away from the switch-heavy defense they’ve been accustomed to (mostly out of necessity, according to Redick) and into more drop principles that keep them closer to the rim on defense. This transition runs in tandem with the bolstering of Los Angeles’ wings and point-of-attack defenders.
Players like Thybulle, Quentin Grimes, Ziaire Williams and Jake LaRavia (an admitted gambling man) can now afford to be more aggressive defending the ball with Kessler down low to absorb any passersby.
“It’s great because I can pressure the ball a little bit more, I can be a little more physical, I can gamble a little bit more,” Grimes said. “Because if I do miss, you’ve got to run into Walker backside and [the ball handler]‘s usually going to wait a second and give me time to get back in front.”
Perhaps Thybulle really means Kessler is the sun, a large ball of mass that welcomes a driving offensive player with his gravitational pull. Or maybe Kessler’s voice is actually the gravity, keeping his perimeter defenders on their axes, orbiting him in cosmic unity.
Perhaps the lasting thought of all this, though, is what Isaac Newton would think of basketball.
You can follow Connor on Twitter at @cmorenoNBA.
