Is Tonight The Night Romeo Langford Returns To Celtics?
BOSTON (CBS) -- Romeo Langford may finally make his season debut for the Celtics on Wednesday night. The second-year guard has been upgraded to questionable for Boston's tilt against the Dallas Mavericks.
Update: Langford was ruled out a few hours before tipoff, with the Celtics hopeful that he'll be cleared to play Friday night.
Langford was sidelined for the first half of the season as he recovered from a broken wrist, and just when it seemed like he was set to return, he landed in the NBA's Health and Safety Protocol on March 11. He hasn't played since Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat, when he suffered a right adductor strain after just over a minute of playing time.
Injuries have plagued Langford's brief NBA career since the Celtics drafted him 14th overall in 2019. He missed Summer League action after undergoing surgery for a torn ligament in his thumb that he suffered during his college career at Indiana, and groin and knee injuries limited him during his first preseason with Boston. He then rolled his ankle while with the Maine Red Claws in November, which he re-aggravated in December.
Langford didn't make his NBA debut until Dec. 18 of last season, and ended up playing 32 games for Boston during his rookie year. He played in seven games of Boston's playoff run last season, averaging 6.6 minutes per game.
The 21-year-old was cleared to return ahead of Monday night's loss to the Pelicans, and was spotted doing some drills ahead of the game. Brad Stevens said that given Langford's long layoff from game action, he won't be playing extended minutes anytime soon.
"He's not gonna be able to play long stints for a while," said Stevens. "We may be able to throw him in there in one of these upcoming games at home for a couple of minutes at a time, but that's about it."
So even if Langford does debut Wednesday, don't expect to see a lot of him. But just seeing him on the court will be a welcome sight for Boston, with the hopes that Langford can develop into a trusted guard who can get to the basket and make some stops on defense.
