After the departure of Dwight Howard over the summer, the Los Angeles Lakers made an interesting move bringing in former All-Star center Chris Kaman. Even though the move left a few scratching their heads, Kaman has played well in limited minutes. Despite playing well and making an impact already in purple and gold, Kaman isn’t totally satisfied with his minutes via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Kaman liked playing w/ Pau in the preseason & did his best not to knock D’Antoni but said: “I would like to play w/ Pau a little bit more.” — Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 4, 2013
With Jordan Hill providing a spark off the bench for the Lakers, head coach Mike D’Antoni has been trying to figure out a way to get all three frontcourt players considerable minutes. Obviously, Gasol is the starting center and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon, but D’Antoni chose to go with Shawne Williams as a stretch four and that hasn’t worked out as planned. In 16 minutes off the bench in the win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, Kaman scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and recorded an assist and a block. Although impressive numbers in limited minutes, Kaman did get into foul trouble with five fouls and turned the ball over three times. With Kaman already expressing his desire to play more, the ball is in D’Antoni’s court moving forward. It’s no secret Williams isn’t cutting it as the starting power forward, but D’Antoni has been reluctant to make the change with four games in the books. Following the win over the Hawks, the Lakers will embark on a three-game road trip starting with the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday followed by Dwight Howard’s Houston Rockets on Thursday and New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. D’Antoni made indication to mixing things up in the starting lineup during the road trip, but that may change if he’s not satisfied with Williams’ performances as a starter.
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VIDEO: Check Out What Mike D’Antoni Had To Say After The Win, Addressing Chris Kaman’s Minutes