Romeo Langford finally will be available when the Celtics host the Charlotte Hornets at TD Garden on Sunday. But Boston fans shouldn't expect a major workload from the 21-year-old shooting guard in his first game this season.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens explained his thought process on getting Langford up to speed with the team after the 2019 first-rounder missed the first 49 games of the 2021 season. Langford, you may recall, underwent wrist surgery and Sunday will mark the first time he's been available.
"Romeo will be available, but he's not ready for anything significant," Stevens told reporters during his pregame video conference.
"So, he might get a stint or two we'll see how the game goes. We'll try to ramp him up as much as we can in games and in practice over the next couple weeks, but I don't have expectations on him for a couple of weeks."
Langford's absence recently was extended after he was placed under the NBA's COVID-19 heath and safety protocols.
The Indiana product played 32 regular-season games during his rookie season and averaged just shy of 12 minutes per game, most of which came off the bench (two starts). He averaged 2.5 points on 35% shooting, but that was also in large part because of Boston's logjam on the wing with Gordon Hayward, etc.
Langford could have an increased presence throughout the remainder of the 2021 campaign, once he gets acclimated and is available for extended minutes.
"I think obviously it's hard to expect Rome to come in and change the whole dynamic of our team, but he can help us and I'm anxious to give him a chance to see him perform," Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said on an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub earlier this week.
Celtics-Hornets is set for 6 p.m. ET.
