Kaman speaks on his minutes

[ctorres]

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/stor ... lving-role

Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni is still trying to settle on a starting lineup and a consistent rotation four games into the season, and Chris Kaman hopes he settles on one soon that has him playing more minutes alongside Pau Gasol.

"It's not easy, but I want to be patient with Coach because he's a good guy and he's been straight with me," Kaman said after the Lakers' 105-103 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. "We've talked and he's said, 'Hey, I want to get you in there more, but I'm trying to do everything.' It's hard to make everybody happy and do your job and win. There's a lot going on there for him."

Kaman played 16 minutes off the bench Sunday and had 10 points and five rebounds.

"He made shots" D'Antoni said. "I thought he played pretty well. I know he wants to play more minutes and that's only natural, but that's kind of the way it's going to be for a while until something happens. We have a lot of guys and everybody is going to have to produce when they can. It's not the easiest thing in the world. I'd love to give guys more minutes, but if I give him more minutes, I'm taking them away from someone else. I think everybody right now deserves a shot at it."

"I want to be patient, but it is frustrating when you play 13, 12, 18 [minutes]. I want it to be consistent," Kaman said. "At the same time I'm willing to be patient and trust Coach to figure it out and we'll see how it goes.

"I would like to play [with] Pau a little bit more and get a rhythm going. I thought we played well in the preseason and I kind of went back to that. I know I had salmonella for 10 days and it was tough for me, but I thought we played well in the preseason and I want to play more minutes with him. ... We'll see. I don't make that call. I think Coach D'Antoni notoriously likes a smaller four-man who can shoot the ball to stretch the floor and open up space for the drives and kicks and penetration."

Gasol said he enjoyed playing with Kaman as well but understood Kaman's illness set him back and that Jordan Hill is also vying for more playing time in the front court.

"It would have been interesting if he didn't get sick for that week," Gasol said. "That would have changed things and we probably would have kept playing and he would have started, but he got sick. I'd also like to see Jordan get more minutes too because Jordan is working his butt off. He's really hustling We don't always have to play with a 4 who's small."

"I don't want to make it harder for him than it already is," Kaman said. "I just want to do my job and not complain and be copacetic about it and take it in stride because there are 78 more games to go. There's a long way to go. If we want to be successful we all have to be together. We can't complain and gripe and go behind people's backs and shoot people in the back of the head when they're not looking. It's not going to work that way. That's not a team. That's not how it works."

A couple of things I take from this article.

- Kaman likes D'Antoni.
- Kaman really wants to play alongside Pau more, rather than just backing him up.
- Kaman probably wants around 20 to 24 minutes a night.
- Pau likes playing with both Kaman and Hill. When he says "we don't always have to play with a 4 who's small", that's making mention to both Shawne Williams and Wesley Johnson.
- D'Antoni is playing a total 11 guys right now. Once Kobe comes back, I think D'Antoni will pick the best 8 out of the 11 and the rest will be glued to the bench. I've always felt that a perfect rotation consists of 9 players, unless you have 8 guys who are all physically capable of handling 30+ mpg.

I'm primarily a Knicks fan, but really, I'm an NBA fan in general and enjoy following every team. I hope you guys don't mind me visiting here once in a while to post. I never mean to "troll" on any team. My cousins are diehard Lakers fans and I've always had a lot of respect for the organization.

[Slava]

Just on basis of pure talent, Kaman should be starting alongside Pau and their games mesh together pretty well for this to not happen. I like Shawne Williams a lot but we're doing him a disservice by giving him an unfamiliar role and playing out of position at PF.

I think eventually you'll see Kaman & Pau starting together once Mike decides on the rotation.

[Kilroy]

I don't care who starts next to Pau as long as the only time he's beyond the Free throw line is when he's running his ass off to get to the post...

Hill or Kaman doesn't matter to me, but those 2 should be our PF rotation... That's 3 periods.

[TruSkool]

Kaman should be starting, Hill should be ending games, and pau should be in there no matter what is going on.

[Tiesto_Lakers]

Really isn't rocket science. Hill should be the starting PF. The Lakers have played at their best this season when Hill is in the game.

Williams shouldn't even be playing at all, let alone starting.

[ctorres]

I like Shawne Williams a lot but we're doing him a disservice by giving him an unfamiliar role and playing out of position at PF.

Shawne Williams is not unfamiliar with that role. He was a PF/C with the Knicks under D'Antoni. He defends those positions better than he does SF. Shawne is D'Antoni's prototype stretch 4.

[Slava]

I like Shawne Williams a lot but we're doing him a disservice by giving him an unfamiliar role and playing out of position at PF.

Shawne Williams is not unfamiliar with that role. He was a PF/C with the Knicks under D'Antoni. He defends those positions better than he does SF. Shawne is D'Antoni's prototype stretch 4.

Then he has no hope on defense because the only thing he has shown so far is a couple of weak side blocks. He's too lightweight for PF defense especially next to Pau. He might look good next to Chandler.

Kaman should start just because he's out best defensive big man. I know its sad.

[ctorres]

I like Shawne Williams a lot but we're doing him a disservice by giving him an unfamiliar role and playing out of position at PF.

Shawne Williams is not unfamiliar with that role. He was a PF/C with the Knicks under D'Antoni. He defends those positions better than he does SF. Shawne is D'Antoni's prototype stretch 4.

Then he has no hope on defense because the only thing he has shown so far is a couple of weak side blocks. He's too lightweight for PF defense especially next to Pau. He might look good next to Chandler.

Kaman should start just because he's out best defensive big man. I know its sad.

Shawne did not play alongside Tyson Chandler. He played alongside A'mare, Jeffries, Turiaf, and Melo in 2010-2011. Tyson joined the Knicks the following season, but Shawne signed with the Nets.

The idea is for the Lakers to play fast enough to where the opposing team can't use a bulky player at PF. D'Antoni wants to force the opposition to adjust to him. That's why Shawne starts games. D'Antoni wants to avoid a traditional big lineup.

[IamBBAnalysis]

Really isn't rocket science. Hill should be the starting PF. The Lakers have played at their best this season when Hill is in the game.

Williams shouldn't even be playing at all, let alone starting.

Hmmm....sometimes. The Lakers got out to a big lead in the first half with the starters. Also, the big leads with Hill in have been with him playing center and the fast/athletic 2nd unit.

[IamBBAnalysis]

Shawne Williams is not unfamiliar with that role. He was a PF/C with the Knicks under D'Antoni. He defends those positions better than he does SF. Shawne is D'Antoni's prototype stretch 4.

Then he has no hope on defense because the only thing he has shown so far is a couple of weak side blocks. He's too lightweight for PF defense especially next to Pau. He might look good next to Chandler.

Kaman should start just because he's out best defensive big man. I know its sad.

Shawne did not play alongside Tyson Chandler. He played alongside A'mare, Jeffries, Turiaf, and Melo in 2010-2011. Tyson joined the Knicks the following season, but Shawne signed with the Nets.

The idea is for the Lakers to play fast enough to where the opposing team can't use a bulky player at PF. D'Antoni wants to force the opposition to adjust to him. That's why Shawne starts games. D'Antoni wants to avoid a traditional big lineup.

Thanks for the posts. Just straight up info without an agenda or bias.

[IamBBAnalysis]

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/9924472/los-angeles-lakers-chris-kaman-trying-patient-evolving-role

Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni is still trying to settle on a starting lineup and a consistent rotation four games into the season, and Chris Kaman hopes he settles on one soon that has him playing more minutes alongside Pau Gasol.

"It's not easy, but I want to be patient with Coach because he's a good guy and he's been straight with me," Kaman said after the Lakers' 105-103 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. "We've talked and he's said, 'Hey, I want to get you in there more, but I'm trying to do everything.' It's hard to make everybody happy and do your job and win. There's a lot going on there for him."

Kaman played 16 minutes off the bench Sunday and had 10 points and five rebounds.

"He made shots" D'Antoni said. "I thought he played pretty well. I know he wants to play more minutes and that's only natural, but that's kind of the way it's going to be for a while until something happens. We have a lot of guys and everybody is going to have to produce when they can. It's not the easiest thing in the world. I'd love to give guys more minutes, but if I give him more minutes, I'm taking them away from someone else. I think everybody right now deserves a shot at it."

"I want to be patient, but it is frustrating when you play 13, 12, 18 [minutes]. I want it to be consistent," Kaman said. "At the same time I'm willing to be patient and trust Coach to figure it out and we'll see how it goes.

"I would like to play [with] Pau a little bit more and get a rhythm going. I thought we played well in the preseason and I kind of went back to that. I know I had salmonella for 10 days and it was tough for me, but I thought we played well in the preseason and I want to play more minutes with him. ... We'll see. I don't make that call. I think Coach D'Antoni notoriously likes a smaller four-man who can shoot the ball to stretch the floor and open up space for the drives and kicks and penetration."

Gasol said he enjoyed playing with Kaman as well but understood Kaman's illness set him back and that Jordan Hill is also vying for more playing time in the front court.

"It would have been interesting if he didn't get sick for that week," Gasol said. "That would have changed things and we probably would have kept playing and he would have started, but he got sick. I'd also like to see Jordan get more minutes too because Jordan is working his butt off. He's really hustling We don't always have to play with a 4 who's small."

"I don't want to make it harder for him than it already is," Kaman said. "I just want to do my job and not complain and be copacetic about it and take it in stride because there are 78 more games to go. There's a long way to go. If we want to be successful we all have to be together. We can't complain and gripe and go behind people's backs and shoot people in the back of the head when they're not looking. It's not going to work that way. That's not a team. That's not how it works."

A couple of things I take from this article.

- Kaman likes D'Antoni.
- Kaman really wants to play alongside Pau more, rather than just backing him up.
- Kaman probably wants around 20 to 24 minutes a night.
- Pau likes playing with both Kaman and Hill. When he says "we don't always have to play with a 4 who's small", that's making mention to both Shawne Williams and Wesley Johnson.
- D'Antoni is playing a total 11 guys right now. Once Kobe comes back, I think D'Antoni will pick the best 8 out of the 11 and the rest will be glued to the bench. I've always felt that a perfect rotation consists of 9 players, unless you have 8 guys who are all physically capable of handling 30+ mpg.

I'm primarily a Knicks fan, but really, I'm an NBA fan in general and enjoy following every team. I hope you guys don't mind me visiting here once in a while to post. I never mean to "troll" on any team. My cousins are diehard Lakers fans and I've always had a lot of respect for the organization.

That "great" chemistry the Lakers had could get worse as guys get less minutes they expect...especially if they feel they deserve more. Kaman/Hill especially are the buys that likely feel they should get more minutes. But Nick Young is another.

[Danny Darko]

i know there are a lot of roles to be settled, so i don't want to jump on MD too fast here. that being said, if he hasn't upped both Hill and Kaman's minutes next game I'm going to wonder if he has a secret glue habbit or just holds illogical/unrealistic grudges/analysis of players games.

[ctorres]

Another thing about D'Antoni. He consistently tries to fit players into molds of past players.

Wesley Johnson is envisioned as a hybrid of Shawn Marion, James Jones, Matt Barnes, Wilson Chandler, Landry Fields. D'Antoni sees him almost exclusively as a PF rather than a SF.
Farmar is Barbosa with better playmaking.
Shawne Williams is Tim Thomas/Boris Diaw, the tweener 6'9 player forced into PF/C.
Guys like Nick Young, Jodie Meeks, Xavier Henry are your Quentin Richardson and Raja Bell types. Basically, just jack up a lot of threes, make at least 33% (which equates to a 50% 2 pointer in D'Antoni's mind) and don't be a liability on the floor. These guys are supposed to have a very simplified role that plays off of Kobe, Gasol, and whoever is running the offense among Nash, Blake, and Farmar.

When it comes to Kaman and Hill, they're effective in D'Antoni's offense if they have the paint all to themselves because the PG, SG, SF, and PF are threats from three. If either of them are playing alongside Gasol, that means D'Antoni has to go away from running his ideal offense and play a half court set which slows the game down, forcing players to think too much.

After looking at boxscores these last few games, I noticed that D'Anyoni is looking to pattern this Lakers squads to some of his Suns and Knicks squads.

This is the rotation that D'Antoni likely wants...

PG: Nash / Farmar or Blake, not both
SG: Kobe Bryant / Jodie Meeks
SF: Xavier Henry / Nick Young
PF: Shawne Williams / Wes Johnson
C: Pau Gasol / Kaman or Hill, not both

If Young struggles, he'd be out of the rotation. D 'Antoni preferably wants to only play 8 or 9 guys.

[ctorres]

i know there are a lot of roles to be settled, so i don't want to jump on MD too fast here. that being said, if he hasn't upped both Hill and Kaman's minutes next game I'm going to wonder if he has a secret glue habbit or just holds illogical/unrealistic grudges/analysis of players games.

Upping both their minutes means the Lakers playing a more traditional lineup. It would all be easier if Kaman and Hill could consistently hit 15-18 foot jumpers like Kurt Thomas. In that scenario, D'Antoni is more willing to play two bigs together. He just doesn't like having two bigs who both have to play near the basket.

[IamBBAnalysis]

Another thing about D'Antoni. He consistently tries to fit players into molds of past players.

Wesley Johnson is envisioned as a hybrid of Shawn Marion, James Jones, Matt Barnes, Wilson Chandler, Landry Fields. D'Antoni sees him almost exclusively as a PF rather than a SF.
Farmar is Barbosa with better playmaking.
Shawne Williams is Tim Thomas/Boris Diaw, the tweener 6'9 player forced into PF/C.
Guys like Nick Young, Jodie Meeks, Xavier Henry are your Quentin Richardson and Raja Bell types. Basically, just jack up a lot of threes, make at least 33% (which equates to a 50% 2 pointer in D'Antoni's mind) and don't be a liability on the floor. These guys are supposed to have a very simplified role that plays off of Kobe, Gasol, and whoever is running the offense among Nash, Blake, and Farmar.

When it comes to Kaman and Hill, they're effective in D'Antoni's offense if they have the paint all to themselves because the PG, SG, SF, and PF are threats from three. If either of them are playing alongside Gasol, that means D'Antoni has to go away from running his ideal offense and play a half court set which slows the game down, forcing players to think too much.

After looking at boxscores these last few games, I noticed that D'Anyoni is looking to pattern this Lakers squads to some of his Suns and Knicks squads.

This is the rotation that D'Antoni likely wants...

PG: Nash / Farmar or Blake, not both
SG: Kobe Bryant / Jodie Meeks
SF: Xavier Henry / Nick Young
PF: Shawne Williams / Wes Johnson
C: Pau Gasol / Kaman or Hill, not both

If Young struggles, he'd be out of the rotation. D 'Antoni preferably wants to only play 8 or 9 guys.

Its funny that you mention Wesley Johnson. He actually really is starting to play like Marion. He's rebounding, playing D, and blocking shots better then I thought he could have. He really looks like him a lot...even the quick jump. Better looking shot, not as good of player at this point though obviously.

And you're basically right about the rest...he is running a system with players to fit roles. He does change it up more then in the past though.

[Danny Darko]

i know there are a lot of roles to be settled, so i don't want to jump on MD too fast here. that being said, if he hasn't upped both Hill and Kaman's minutes next game I'm going to wonder if he has a secret glue habbit or just holds illogical/unrealistic grudges/analysis of players games.

Upping both their minutes means the Lakers playing a more traditional lineup. It would all be easier if Kaman and Hill could consistently hit 15-18 foot jumpers like Kurt Thomas. In that scenario, D'Antoni is more willing to play two bigs together. He just doesn't like having two bigs who both have to play near the basket.

Yeah I get that, but when he stopped being stubborn last year we went on a big run. He likes what he likes, but he needs to identify his personnel and adjust based on what works.

[IamBBAnalysis]

i know there are a lot of roles to be settled, so i don't want to jump on MD too fast here. that being said, if he hasn't upped both Hill and Kaman's minutes next game I'm going to wonder if he has a secret glue habbit or just holds illogical/unrealistic grudges/analysis of players games.

Upping both their minutes means the Lakers playing a more traditional lineup. It would all be easier if Kaman and Hill could consistently hit 15-18 foot jumpers like Kurt Thomas. In that scenario, D'Antoni is more willing to play two bigs together. He just doesn't like having two bigs who both have to play near the basket.

Its funny people seem so negative around here. The team is 2-2 and expectations were very low this season. Add in that the team rotation is still not determined and Kobe should eventually come back that should cause for optimism.

[IamBBAnalysis]

i know there are a lot of roles to be settled, so i don't want to jump on MD too fast here. that being said, if he hasn't upped both Hill and Kaman's minutes next game I'm going to wonder if he has a secret glue habbit or just holds illogical/unrealistic grudges/analysis of players games.

Upping both their minutes means the Lakers playing a more traditional lineup. It would all be easier if Kaman and Hill could consistently hit 15-18 foot jumpers like Kurt Thomas. In that scenario, D'Antoni is more willing to play two bigs together. He just doesn't like having two bigs who both have to play near the basket.

Yeah I get that, but when he stopped being stubborn last year we went on a big run. He likes what he likes, but he needs to identify his personnel and adjust based on what works.

Different season. Last year you had Dwight and Kobe that needed to play down low. This particular team is suited to the D'Antonni's system of play. Not sure why people are surprised. When Kobe comes back things will likely change though. We'll see.

[Mr 24 eight]

Other than acquiring Pau Gasol, this offseason is the best thing Mitch Kupchak has done as GM.

With the amount of quality players on this squad he has positioned himself to package a few to bring in an impact player.

As far as the rotation goes, I'd like to see both Hill and Kaman get more minutes. This, of course, will reduce the time we can run a stretch 4.

I would like to see Henry playing more 2 with Johnson or Young at the 3. Hill at 4. Pau and Kaman at 5.

When Kobe comes back it's going to really be interesting. Should be a great season for Lakers fans.

[Tiesto_Lakers]

Marion averaged 22 & 12 one season under D'Antoni. If we're expecting Wes Johnson to play like that, we're gonna be disappointed.