Rookie Wilcox Gets Start at Center

Hoping for a youthful spark, Coach Alvin Gentry started rookie Chris Wilcox at center Saturday against the Boston Celtics. Gentry also hoped Wilcox could better stick with the smaller and faster Celtics.

With center Tony Battie sitting out because of flulike symptoms, the tallest Celtic starter was Walter McCarty, who stands 6 feet 10 and isn’t a prototypical post-up player.

“They’re going with a small lineup and it would be a tough matchup for Sean,” Gentry said, referring to veteran Sean Rooks, who has been starting in place of injured center Michael Olowokandi.

Wilcox had played in only 21 games before Saturday, averaging 2.3 points in a meager seven minutes a game.

“I think he’s a typical 20-year-old kid trying to play in the NBA,” Gentry said. “He’s trying to get better. He spends time now working on his game.

“It’s part of the growth of any young player. We went through the same things with Darius [Miles]. He made mistakes and we put him out there and lived with his mistakes.”

Perhaps the biggest factor holding Wilcox back is that he plays behind power forward Elton Brand, who leads the Clippers with averages of 18.2 points and 11.3 rebounds.

“There just aren’t a lot of minutes left over,” Gentry said.