Center Steven Hunter played five minutes against the Lakers, but hasn’t left the bench much this season. Friday, he did not play because of a coaches’ decision for the seventh time in the past eight games.
The season has been a frustrating one for Hunter, who came to the team via a summer trade with Philadelphia to help bolster the frontcourt. But a knee injury forced him to miss 25 games, and now that he’s back, he still isn’t playing.
Hunter smiled and said the Lakers game “felt great. It felt great just to get between the lines and run up and down the court and feel like part of the team again.”
Hunter admits his conditioning needs to improve if he wants more playing time.
“I’m pretty close, but I’m not in as good of shape as the guys who are playing all the minutes,” Hunter said.
Key Kenyon. Kenyon Martin has scored 20 points in each of his past two games and is averaging 18.6 points since his return after missing three games with a staph infection.
Chris Dempsey
