The veteran center brought hustle and energy that did not show up in the box score, however, and his free throws helped complete the Celtics' comeback by tying the game in the fourth quarter. Each of his six points and four offensive rebounds were vital for the Celtics to improve to two games over .500.
Wilcox made quite an impact in just 17 minutes, but he is not the only Celtics post player who has come up big in limited minutes.
Kevin Garnett is the most unlikely of the group to be playing on a watch. During Friday's game, the future Hall of Famer became the third player in NBA history to grab 10,000 career rebounds, but his legs have taken a lot of wear in 16 1/2 seasons. Celtics coach Doc Rivers has watched Garnett's minutes carefully, adhering to a five minutes on, five minutes off approach to Garnett's playing time.
Garnett has said all the right things about the limitations, although his 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds averages indicate his skills haven't dimished.
Jermaine O'Neal knows how Garnett feels. Like Garnett, O'Neal was once a perennial All-Star before time took its toll on his joints. O'Neal is averaging only 22 minutes per game, and if he could stay out of foul trouble he would probably stay on the court a bit longer.
O'Neal's biggest contributions have been on the defensive end, and on the other end of the court, Brandon Bass has bailed out the second unit numerous times. Bass leads the Celtics bench in minutes and not surprisingly leads the reserves in scoring as well. At times he's been exposed on defense, just as fan favorite Greg Stiemsma has been great in spurts but has struggled in extended playing time.
