Piatkowski Off the Sidelines

And the odd man out was ... drum roll, please ... rookie backup forward Chris Wilcox, who was put on the injured list because of back spasms Friday to clear space on the active roster for shooting guard Eric Piatkowski.

Piatkowski had been sidelined since Dec. 10, when he suffered a lower abdominal strain in the first half of the Clippers’ loss to the Mavericks at Dallas. He did not join the starting lineup Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but scored two points in eight minutes.

It was the longest Piatkowski had been sidelined because of an injury in his nine seasons. He said he had no idea how many games he had sat out (it was 19). He recalled the day of his injury only when he read it in the package of newspaper clippings provided to the players and coaching staff daily.

“The hardest thing about it is that it’s boring sitting out every night and knowing you could be helping,” he said. “You’re walking around, being able to lift weights and jog a little bit and even shoot and your teammates say, ‘You’re looking good.’ Then you see teams sticking in a zone the whole game against us and you realize you could be out there helping.”

No physical restrictions were placed on Piatkowski for his return, but Coach Alvin Gentry wasn’t about to yank Corey Maggette from the starting lineup in favor of Piatkowski. Maggette has averaged 19.3 points and 6.9 rebounds this month, although he had only 10 points and two rebounds Friday. He has had three games of 20 or more points, including a career-best of 34 in the Clippers’ loss Jan. 3 against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Piatkowski seemed content Friday merely to be playing again.

“The only thing is that my timing might be off a little bit,” he said. “Maybe it will be two or three games, at the most, before I start to feel normal again.”

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Wilcox, who this time last year was helping Maryland build momentum for its NCAA championship run, has averaged 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 6.8 minutes in 18 games. He was the eighth overall pick in the 2002 draft after averaging 12 points and 7.1 points last season for Maryland.