WALTHAMThe Celtics were back in action on Wednesday -- all of them but Avery Bradley.
Both Chris Wilcox (back) and Darko Milicic (wrist) returned after time off and look to be doing fine.
Wilcox hasn't participated in practice since the team left for Turkey, and didn't play in any preseason games. That said, Rivers was impressed with what he saw out of the 6-foot-10 forwardcenter.
"He went through the whole practice," Rivers said. "He looked like Chris Wilcoxexactly. I say that jokingly, but he did what he does, you know what I mean? He ran the floor, rebounded, turned the ball overthat's what I've been getting on him aboutso he did all those things. But he looked pretty good. I was surprised, his conditioning was a lot better than I thought it was going to be."
Wilcox's ability to run the floor on the break made him one of Rondo's favorite targets last season. For that reason, his conditioning is also key. With his back and conditioning issues on the mend, Wilcox is easing into things again.
"It felt good, my first day out there," Wilcox said. "It's tough because you kind of have to feel out what's going on but I felt great out there today."
Not being out on the court was a hard thing for Wilcox to watch everyday. Now, though, he's finally able to help.
"Definitely a big release," Wilcox said when asked about finally getting back out on the court. "Just sitting back there working out everyday in the sideline and seeing thee guys go up and down, I want to be a part of it, you know? We're out there grinding and getting ready for this year and I couldn't be part of it. So today was a great challenge for me. I went out there and worked hard. I mean, it's the first day so I didn't expect too much but I think I did well."
So what does he want to improve on? The list is long.
"Everything, you know what I mean? I'm coming from scratch right now so everything I do I'm trying to improve and trying to get better," Wilcox said.
As for Milicic, Rivers didn't have much to say, but the news sounded somewhat encouraging.
"He was great. Had his wrist heavily taped, but he was fine," Rivers said.