In a bit of a shocking turn of events, Boston Celtics rookie Romeo Langford will be available tonight in the first game of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against Philadelphia.
Preparing for Boston Celtics game night, I thought about plenty of Boston Celtics-Philadelphia 76ers related narratives and game-planning. Whether or not Matisse Thybulle would start for Shake Milton or Al Horford was my first thought, and the idea of how much more effective the offense will be with more Kemba Walker minutes played out in my head like a gentle wave crashing on the beach during a scenic summer sunset.
What I did not expect, was seeing this injury update from Keith Smith less than two hours before game time:
The Boston Celtics announced both Romeo Langford and Vincent Poirier are available for tonight's Game 1 vs the Philadelphia 76ers.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) August 17, 2020
Romeo Langford’s availability so soon after he injured ligaments in his shooting hand on Thursday is a genuinely awesome surprise. The rookie has not had a lot of things break his way this season–not the least among them a global pandemic that he and all other rookies are having to deal with–and being on hand to contend with athletic 76ers wings like Shake Milton and Thybulle could go a long way in neutralizing Philadelphia on the wing…a must, considering the dominance Joel Embiid will likely display in the post this series.
What’s also important to note is that Langford avoiding any long-term injury means he can absorb some of Gordon Hayward’s minutes when he leaves the bubble for the birth of his fourth child. It would have been a real shame if Langford was unable to participate in the postseason after missing more than half of the regular season.
Now, it appears as though the C’s will have their lone 2019 lottery pick for the entire postseason barring any other injuries.