LAS VEGAS — As expected, Romeo Langford was not be available when the Celtics opened their summer league season Saturday against Philadelphia.

The talented wing scorer, taken by the Celtics with the 14th pick of this year’s draft, is recovering from thumb surgery on his (right) shooting hand after playing with the injury for most of his only season at Indiana University. Langford has been working on his shot with assistant coach Joe Mazzulla, but may not get much beyond this point by the time summer league ends.

Caution is far more important, especially in summer league, said Scott Morrison, the former Maine Red Claws coach who is coaching the Celtics summer league team.

“I’m hoping that he does more,” said Morrison. “It’s not really my decision. I’m just doing what I’ve been told, but he has been getting in more reps in the non-contact stuff and he continues to work on his shooting and his skill work.

“I’m guessing the plan is to take it slow with him and make sure he’s as strong as he can be by the time the real stuff gets going. Not that this isn’t important, but it wouldn’t be worth it to risk a further injury to play two games of summer league, ya know?”

ROBERT WILLIAMS has come into the summer season with a new look.

“I lost weight. I’ve been trying to get back in shape. I dropped like six pounds maybe trying to (improve) the conditioning part, trying to get it back right,” Williams said. “We’ve got great strength and conditioning guys.”

Someone said he looked skinny, and Williams brushed it off, saying, “Yeah, yeah. I’m still a problem.”

He’s also anxious to play his first serious time as a focal point since joining the Celtics. A knee injury two minutes into his first game last year wiped out his first summer league experience, and while his infrequent appearances with the Celtics last season generally produced crowd-pleasing moments, he was mostly confined to the bench.

The need to keep him in Boston – as insurance for Al Horford and Aron Baynes, who were both injured at different stages – also deprived Williams the chance to play for the Red Claws, an experience he clearly could have used.

MORRISON WILL will be relatively democratic in the short term, but players like Robert Williams, Grant Williams, Carsen Edwards and Tacko Fall will eventually get most of the attention and action in summer league games.

“I guess the first goal will be to try to get everyone a little bit of a taste out on the court, and try to get everyone involved early on, give them a chance to show what they can do when the ball goes up,” Morrison said. “But at the end of the day, obviously we have some guys that have a little higher priority to get their minutes, make sure they get the right amount of reps and just like the regular season, it’s a balancing act between getting as many reps as they can at a high pace and not overdoing it to risk injury.

“So I would expect to see the Celtics picks and the returning guys get a little more opportunity to play, but everyone here has been working hard and deserves a chance to show what they can do to the NBA and the scouting world that’s watching.”

SUMMER LEAGUE

CELTICS 96, 76ERS 82: Carsen Edwards had a standout debut in Las Vegas, scoring 20 points on five 3-pointers as the Celtics pulled away from the 76ers. Edwards, the 33rd overall pick in the draft from Purdue, finished 7 of 17 from the field and added three steals. Grant Williams finished with 12 points and six rebounds in his debut for Boston.

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