When Chris Kaman signed with the Lakers in the off-season, he envisioned himself playing a key role for the team. However, after playing some quality minutes for the Lakers in early February where he had three 20 point and 10 rebound games, Kaman has not been part of the rotation.
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Kaman mysteriously disappeared after halftime of the Lakers’ 125-109 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, drawing attention and question from the fans. According to Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters, Kaman was dealing with a sore foot:
D'Antoni said Chris Kaman has a sore foot (his reason for why Kaman wasn't on the bench second half)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 20, 2014
Kaman hasn’t played in a game since February 28th, so news of an injured foot comes as a bit of a surprise. Kaman has been losing minutes to Robert Sacre, who has been given consistent minutes in D’Antoni’s rotation.
With the Lakers no longer in playoff contention, D’Antoni is giving the younger players a chance to audition their abilities for next season while indadvertedly helping the team position themselves for a better draft pick come June.
With the way the Lakers have been crippled by injuries this season, losing anybody only adds to the misery. The Lakers are already without Jordan Hill who is being hampered by a knee injury, leaving Sacre as the only backup big for the Lakers.
Luckily for the Lakers, D’Antoni prefers to play small ball with Wesley Johnson at the four position. Although Kaman has hardly been used lately, hopefully he can rejoin the team soon because they may need him with all these injuries this season.
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