Jazz C Walker Kessler Rides the Pine in USA's FIBA Loss to Germany

Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler’s road to a FIBA World Cup championship has ended.

Despite being a 10.5 underdog heading into the contest, Germany was able to hold off Team USA in a huge upset victory, 113-111. Germany’s Andreas Obst led all scorers with 24 points, while Franz Wagner contributed 23. Anthony Edwards scored 23 points for Team USA in a losing cause.

This tournament's Achilles heel has been on the defensive end, and unfortunately for Team USA, it reared its ugly head when it mattered most. 

Germany finished the game shooting 57.7% from the field and had its way against an opponent that didn’t have the size to match up in half-court sets. Another glaring weakness was the lack of rim protection Team USA provided, but that wasn’t due to a lack of personnel. 

It was apparent early on in the tournament that head coach Steve Kerr was determined to win on the international stage playing small ball. Even when matched up against a bigger Lithuania squad, the strategy was always to outscore its opponent. 

Yet, when the rubber met the road, Kerr still decided to keep his best two rim protectors on the bench. Germany finished the game with a whopping 50 points in the paint.

2022-23 Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson only logged 18 minutes, while Utah Jazz defensive specialist Walker Kessler didn’t play. We’ll never know whether going big would have made a difference, but it did appear the small ball strategy wasn’t sustainable after Team USA’s first loss in the tournament. Kessler was asked last week about the lack of time on the court.

“I think that our team, all 12 of us unbelievably talented players,” Kessler told reporters. “All the guys are great guys. Regardless of who’s playing, we all cheer for each other and support each other. It just goes to show how deep we are. Anybody could have a good night on this team, and it’s a lot of fun to be part of.”

Certainly, Kessler did the right thing by taking the high road, but one has to wonder why Jackson and Kessler weren’t used more to help cover up the deficiencies that were plain as day. Edwards also touched on what hurt Team USA in his post-game interview. 

"We got outrebounded all night," Edwards said. "They were more physical than us."

Moving forward, Team USA has one more game left and will play Team Canada for the bronze on Sunday.

 

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