NBA Notes: Lakers, Walker Kessler, Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards, Pistons

October 28, 2026

Lakers

Walker Kessler isn’t leaving the Lakers’ defensive problems for somebody else to explain.

“I got to personally be better on the defensive side,” Kessler said after Tuesday’s loss to Portland, via Lakers Nation. “Giving up [136] points is not acceptable. We’ll figure it out.”

The Lakers scored 129 and still suffered their first loss. Four Trail Blazers reached 20 points, with Damian Lillard making two of Portland’s four threes in the final four minutes.

Kessler can help clean things up around the basket. But keeping opposing guards from getting comfortable is going to require more than the center taking responsibility afterward.

Timberwolves

Anthony Edwards scored 47 points Monday. A day later, the conversation shifted from his performance to whether he should have been playing so much at all.

Edwards logged 41 minutes against Cleveland on the second night of a back-to-back despite an ongoing right knee issue. He now faces an arthroscopic procedure and up to two months out.

Sean Keane of Yardbarker questions Minnesota’s handling of that workload. The timing invites scrutiny, though it doesn’t establish that Monday’s minutes caused the need for surgery.

The Wolves hope addressing the issue now will have Edwards ready to return sometime in December, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Until then, LaMelo Ball and the rest of the rotation have considerably more to handle.

Pistons

Paul Reed supplied 22 points and nine rebounds against the Knicks. Detroit still got a reminder that replacing Jalen Duren involves more than matching his production.

Reed and reserve center Tolu Smith both encountered foul trouble while Karl-Anthony Towns collected 27 points and 20 rebounds, as Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes.

Duren is sidelined with a strained hamstring, leaving Detroit to manage those matchups without its starting center.