Delonte West has missed more than two weeks with a severely sprained right ankle, but the Celtics' reserve guard is now back and ready to play. West will return on Wednesday night, as the C's play host to the Indiana Pacers at the TD Garden.
"I'm a soldier," West said pregame. "I'm ready to do whatever my commander tells me. If it's to sit on the bench and root, then I know how to do that. If it's to play the two, the one, whatever it is, then OK. The goal is to win, and that's all that matters."
West returns to a Boston second unit that's recently added Carlos Arroyo as a backup point guard, and recently lost Von Wafer at the two-spot to a troubling calf injury. The need for West appears to be on the wing, rather than running the point, but it's unclear exactly where he'll fit.
"I don't know," coach Doc Rivers said. "We'll just figure it out as the game goes. Delonte, right now, we're just going to get him on the floor and see how many minutes he can handle. Then after that, we'll figure it out. Whatever the eye test says is what we'll play him.
"We'll see how those two play together," he added, referring to West and Arroyo. "We'll see what Delonte plays better, one or two, with this group. The quicker we get them all on the floor together, the quicker we can figure all this out.
West has missed a lot of time this season. Between a 10-game suspension to start the season, a three-month absence this winter with a broken wrist, and now the ankle, the 27-year-old guard has spent a lot more time watching from the bench than playing either guard position. But West is optimistic that once he gets back out there, he'll be ready — not just for the moment, but for the long haul.
"It's not about going out and proving what I can do, or making one shot," he said. "It's about doing what my team needs in the time that I do get on the floor to help this team win. That's what it is. If it's a defensive assignment, if it's a rebound, whatever. That's all it is."
