This one was supposed to be about the matchup between the top pick in last June’s draft, John Wall, and Rajon Rondo, but Wall missed Washington’s 109-94 win over the Toronto Raptors last night with a sprained foot, making it unlikely that he will be ready to go tonight (though he did make the trip to Boston, so there is a shot he plays). In his place, Gilbert Arenas started and provided some of his old magic with 20 points, seven boards and six assists to lead his team to its third victory over the season.

Before said win the Wizards had dropped four of their last five games, and a lot of it was due to sloppy basketball, as Washington “leads” the league with over 18 turnovers a game. The Wizards have also struggled on the glass (bottom five in rebounding and rebounding rate) and generally on the offensive end, where they are near the bottom in terms of offensive efficiency.

The Celtics, meanwhile, had to be happy to come back to Boston with a 3-1 record considering the level of competition they faced in their four-game road swing. The key will be to take that momentum (as opposed to rust) and not let Washington hang around.

What else should you watch for? Here’s three things.

1) The Return of Delonte West: Last we heard from the Celtics’ guard, he was punching out a teammate (Von Wafer). Before that he was in the news for his supposed liasons with Mrs. James. Now, Delonte West can finally have the headlines for playing in a real game.

All eyes will be on the Celtics guard in this one. Delonte is returning from his 10-game suspension and should immediately be slotted into the rotation for Doc Rivers’ club.

While we can’t know how much run he is going to get, no one should expect too much from his performance. West hasn’t played since the Celtics’ third preseason game on October 10th, missing the rest of the preseason with a back injury and then sitting out the last 10 games thanks to his suspension. While West has been practicing, it has certainly been awhile since he played in a real game.

Will Doc immediately give him minutes? I think he will at least get a look, though he certainly isn’t going to steal any from Wafer, because not surprisingly Wafer has barely played. So where will those minutes come from? Will Doc sit Nate Robinson at all, or will he give Paul Pierce and Ray Allen more rest? Allen has been playing a number of minutes with the second unit and has produced well in those spots, and Doc generally likes to keep one of that pair on the court with the second team as a stabilizer.

The tandem of West and Robinson looked solid in limited preseason action, but the truth is that this duo might have been just that—a preseason pairing. At one point I would have said that West could come replace a struggling Robinson, but Nate has picked up his game over the course of the last week and is playing his best ball of the season. So while the Celtics’ minutes situation is a little crowded, Doc will almost certainly create room for the talented West. Now let’s see if he can make his mark.

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First, West was traded to Minnesota, which waived him swiftly in a cost cutting measure. It took almost a month before the Celtics, realizing their lack of backcourt depth with the departure of Tony Allen, decided to bring West back to Boston. Why did no one else bite? Well, as last year’s “LeMom” rumors show, West comes with a little baggage.

So should we be surprised that West was in the middle of an altercation at practice with Von Wafer? West reportedly was a little rough with Wafer when the two were covering ech other in a game of three-on-three. Wafer proceeded to head to the locker room, where West followed him and apparently threw a punch that led to a tussle between the two players.

First things first, I don’t think this has anything to do with playing time. Or it shouldn’t. West doesn’t have to worry about Wafer stealing his job while he is suspended. If anything, Wafer should be the one worried about losing his roster spot when West returns in eight games. In fact, Danny Ainge came out and said that neither player is in jeopardy of losing his job, and that the matter has been handled internally and the team will be moving on. But let’s consider the other ramifications of this occurrence.

West already had a negative reputation from previous instances like his bizarre weapons charges indictment (from a motorcycle traffic stop; you can’t make this stuff up) that lead to his 10-game suspension, as well as the rumors from his days in Cleveland. There is also the negativity, as wrong as it may be, surrounding his acknowledged bout with depression. Still, from all accounts, West is a good teammate and person. So why does trouble seem to follow him? And more importantly for the Celtics, is it a big deal?

I can’t answer the first question, but I’m leaning to no on the second. Listen, the Celtics are a team full of egos that are coexisting under the direction of Doc Rivers. I don’t think this situation will faze a veteran squad. Timberwolves fans might remember that Kevin Garnett took a swing at Kris Humphries when he was in Minnesota. Of course, Humphries didn’t stick with the team, but that isn’t the point I’m making. Basketball, as I’ve said before, is an emotional sport, and competition sometimes brings in the worst in people. And when that competition is among two people who are fighting for one spot, that is even more likely to be the case.

My take is that this will all blow over by the time West is back. Of course, I could be wrong, but let’s hope that isn’t the case. The Celtics are going to need West, and his defense in particular, this season. And if it comes with a little excess baggage, that is something that this team will have to deal with.