Boston Celtics: 2 Cs that could make debut during home opener

Boston Celtics SG/SF Josh Richardson

After President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens handed Josh Richardson a contract extension this past offseason, it was fair at the time to surmise that the former Tennessee Volunteer would be an integral part of the rotation in 2021-22.

In the preseason, though, he was not a heavy minutes getter at all, sparking the imagination to wander to the idea of Stevens having extended him simply to use him as trade bait at the trade deadline or next offseason when his pact would then become an expiring deal.

Richardson missed the Cs opener due to a migraine, but he isn’t expected to miss any more time and could make his debut tonight against Toronto.

In his absence, second-year wing Aaron Nesmith delivered an O-fer, going 0/4 overall and 0/3 from beyond the arc. Romeo Langford, on the other hand, was more effective, shooting 4/6 overall and 2/3 from the 3-point line. The young duo is the biggest roadblock to Richardson getting minutes, and they didn’t play collectively well enough to glue him to the bench.

Richardson should suit up for his fourth NBA franchise tonight and Ime Udoka will add the challenge of managing all of their minutes to his laundry list of to-dos in year one in charge.