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Andrew Bynum continues to struggle with discomfort as he gets playing time with the Cavaliers, and appeared frustrated with his performance Thursday in Philadelphia.

(Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)

PHILADELPHIA -- The joy of basketball is gone for Andrew Bynum.

But, just like the rest of his game, the Cavaliers center is hoping it comes back.

Meeting with reporters in Pennsylvania for the first time after missing all of last season with the Sixers because of knee problems, Bynum said he felt as if he is a shell of himself on the court right now. He said he considered retirement after last season and still thinks about it occasionally even after signing a two-year, incentive-laden $24-million contract with the Cavs last summer.

"I’m struggling mentally," he said quietly after practice at Temple University. "I’m trying."

Asked what his goal is, Bynum said, "Just to be able to play without pain and discover the joy again. … Right now it’s just battling pain is annoying. I’m not able to do the things I used to be able to do and it’s frustrating.''

With those sorts of things on his mind, he is not the least bit worried about what kind of reception he'll get when the Cavs face the Sixers on Friday night at Wells Fargo Center.

"Just expecting to go out and play another game,'' he said.

Sixers fans, he said, were great fans who supported the team. He doesn't think he got a bum rap from them because he couldn't play after being traded from the Lakers. He said he had no problems with the Sixers or their medical staff.

"If I could’ve played, I would’ve,'' he said. "That’s kind of where I sat. I was hurt. It is what it is. I’m still hurt, but I’m trying.''

Bynum, who had surgery on both knees last March, has played four games, averaging 5.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 12.8 minutes a game. He's shooting just 28 percent (7 of 25) and has had a number of his shots blocked. After looking better in each of his first three games, he seemed to take a step back in the loss at Milwaukee on Wednesday, finishing with four points and four rebounds in 14:19.

"I still feel sharp pains," he said, "like after my dunk [in Milwaukee]. After that I went down from there. Still quite a ways to go. At the moment, it’s tough to enjoy the game because of how limited I am physically. I’m still sort of working through that."

Asked what percentage he thought he was at, Bynum said, "I think I’m out of rehab phase, but I missed 567 days or something like that. Still can’t jump, slide or anything. I’m just going out and trying to play. … My health is my concern. My knees are my knees. They’re not going to get better, they are what they are. That’s really it."

Bynum said the one thing that has made his return easier was playing behind starting center Anderson Varejao.

"Andy is playing well, which is a great help to me in being able to sit back and accept that role-playing responsibility at the moment," he said. "We all know if things were going bad, it would get even crazier. Happy for him, he’s doing well. I’m just going to keep trying to play and get back.

"I feel like I can still be a double-double guy in this league, but it’s just going to take some modifications to my game and whether or not I want to accept the challenge and do that."

After listening to a clearly disheartened Bynum, reporters asked Cavs coach Mike Brown if he thought the former All-Star center could become the player he once was.

"I'm not a doctor," Brown said. "Guys have come back after being injured before. I'm assuming in time, maybe he will be. The one thing he has going for him offensively is -- a couple of things -- he's very intelligent and he's very skilled. He can do more than just post up or be the inside presence. If the floor is spaced, he can knock down the 17-foot shot. As crazy as it sounds, and I've said it before, I've seen him shoot 3-pointers in practice. He's a very good shooter from that range. His skill set is high.

"You take a guy like Zydrunas Ilgauskas. He had terrible feet problems and he was able to play after multiple surgeries and sitting out for a while because he was skilled. He wasn't as big as Andrew, but he was long.

"So if he's long, skilled and intelligent, you're going to have a chance to play many years even if a guy like Andrew doesn't get his explosiveness back. You don't know. Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn't. But he's working hard to try to be the same player he was before. … I believe he feels it's a process. Just like anybody, at times you can be happy about it, you may be sad about it, you may be mad about it but (feeling that way is) nothing out of the ordinary.''

Cavaliers at Philadelphia

Time: 7 p.m. Friday at Wells Fargo Center.

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Ohio/WTAM AM/1100.

Notable: Cavs are 0-3 on the road. … They have lost four straight at Philadelphia. … Sixers started out 3-0 but have lost their last two. … Rookie point guard Michael-Carter Williams has been quite a sensation, earning Eastern Conference player of the week his first week and averaging 19.8 points, 7.6 assists and 5.0 rebound. The only rookie with similar numbers was Oscar Robertson.