Chris Kaman says he never anticipated playing so many minutes

With the Lakers’ onslaught of injuries, Chris Kaman has been thrust into a new role.

In Tuesday’s 96-79 loss to the Utah Jazz, Kaman played 37 minutes, more than twice as many as the 17 minutes he has averaged this season.

“I’m fine, I’m just old,” the 31-year-old center said.

With age, apparently comes some rust.

Kamam led the Lakers in scoring with 25 points, but it took him 24 shots to get there (he only made 11 field goals).

“It’s just a lot of minutes,” Kaman said. “I’m not used to those minutes, so it takes time to get that feel back and that rhythm back. It also takes time to kind of get your wind back and shape in your legs. It’s a whole different thing when you’re actually playing than when you’re practicing.”

Kaman said he was not proud of his performance, even though it included a game-high 14 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Coach Mike D’Antoni, on the other hand, said he was just happy that someone was scoring for the Lakers, who have lost six consecutive games at home for the first time since 1992-93.

“He was the only one who could generate a good shot,” D’Antoni said.

Kaman, who is in his 11th year in the league, said he’s never been a part of a team that had such high expectations and has been such a disappointment.

“It’s just frustrating, you know,” Kaman said. “Obviously everybody knows we want to win. It’s not like we’re out here trying to chase [draft] picks. It’s not what we’re doing at all, I promise. I don’t think anybody thinks that way. It’s just frustrating that the team that is trying to go for picks, they beat us by 20.”

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