There's a lot to love about what Romeo Langford is doing defensively for Celtics

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/theres-lot-love-romeo-langford-174149079.html



There's a lot to love about what Romeo Langford is doing defensively for Celtics



A. Sherrod Blakely
NBC Sports Boston
February 22, 2020, 9:41 AM PST



MINNEAPOLIS -- Within seconds of stepping on to the floor in the first quarter Friday night against Minnesota, the Celtics' Romeo Langford knew he was going to be tested.

"Put him in action," Langford heard one of the Timberwolves players tell a teammate when he saw Langford was the primary defender.

That's basketball lingo for, "go at that dude!"

The Celtics rookie has seen limited playing time this season, so he's more than accustomed to being challenged shortly after checking into a game.

"They can try me; a lot of people try me," Langford told NBC Sports Boston following the 127-117 win over the Timberwolves. "It's just funny to me. Because I know what I can do defensively."

And fortunately for the Celtics, so does coach Brad Stevens, who has shown no hesitation in putting Langford into the game sooner rather than later.

"When [teams] isolate him late, I feel really good about Romeo being isolated," said Stevens. "He's got great length, great agility."

And tremendous confidence, courtesy of the time spent preparing for opponents with Celtics assistant Joe Mazzulla.

That confidence was on display Friday night, with Langford showing the ability to consistently contest shots, which led a strong night defensively.

Langford defended 10 Minnesota players who combined to shoot just 1-for-7 against him, with the lone made basket coming in transition in the first quarter by Malik Beasley, who had a team-high 27 points.

And when Jaylen Brown fouled out in the fourth quarter, Stevens didn't hesitate to turn to Langford to close out the game.

"It's great experience coming in like that," Brown told NBC Sports Boston. "I don't ever want to foul out, obviously. But it's good that we can turn to Romeo and he can hold it down for us when he gets his chance."

A series of injuries kept Langford out for large chunks of the season making it more challenging for Stevens to know what he could expect when Langford did play.

Still, through stints with the Maine Red Claws and limited time with the Celtics, Stevens has seen the progress made by Langford particularly when it comes to defense.

"He's starting to trust me now," Langford said of Stevens. "Especially early in the game and towards the end of the game. It shows like, I'm doing something right. I need to keep it up now."

To see Langford being praised for his defense is a far cry from where he was at the start of the season when all the talk about the lottery pick was centered around his ability to score.

When it comes to defense, Langford said his approach is pretty simple.

"Just embraced it," Langford said. "Brad says and everyone on the team says, 'the way you play on this team at a young age, is by defense.' So, I like to play and I want to play so I focus on defense so I can get some run in."


bob
Jay King @ByJayKing
yesterday
Brad Stevens on Romeo Langford: “His defense is really good.”

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.

Sweet

In an eight man rotation Stevens has four very good scorers who are also decent to very good defenders. Four players who can score 20+ reliably and 30+ on a given night. When one of them goes down he can afford to sub with a not so reliable scorer as long as he is not a gaping hole in the defense. Langford is not only not a gaping hole, he is a very good defender. He's not getting enough touches to judge his outside shooting. When the opportunity presents, he goes to the hole. Outside of another All Star level wing, he looks pretty good. Semi and Green may be pushed down the bench, but this kid's defense looks elite.

Semi's strength will get him minutes, but Langford has more skills than him or Green

I'd like to see him in the regular rotation by playoff time, if he keeps improving.

that assumes Brad will use as many as 10 players then of course.

This kid is just getting started obviously, he fits this teams DNA on multiple athletic guards and wings that can defend on the ball and all over the floor and multiple positions. Smart, Brown and Tatum are some great defenders perfect for this era and Romeo definitely fits in because he’s got the tools/attributes.

Love Danny’s vision....

cowens/oldschool wrote:This kid is just getting started obviously, he fits this teams DNA on multiple athletic guards and wings that can defend on the ball and all over the floor and multiple positions. Smart, Brown and Tatum are some great defenders perfect for this era and Romeo definitely fits in because he’s got the tools/attributes.

Love Danny’s vision....

Cow,

I agree. I don't know what his offense is really like, he hasn't played enough and he is being very cautious about his shot selection (as he should be, especially as a rookie), but he is built for today's wing-oriented NBA. 6'6", 7'0" wingspan.

And, yes, Danny's crystal ball is pretty much on target.


bob


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bobheckler wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:This kid is just getting started obviously, he fits this teams DNA on multiple athletic guards and wings that can defend on the ball and all over the floor and multiple positions. Smart, Brown and Tatum are some great defenders perfect for this era and Romeo definitely fits in because he’s got the tools/attributes.

Love Danny’s vision....

Cow,

I agree.  I don't know what his offense is really like, he hasn't played enough and he is being very cautious about his shot selection (as he should be, especially as a rookie), but he is built for today's wing-oriented NBA.  6'6", 7'0" wingspan.

And, yes, Danny's crystal ball is pretty much on target.


bob


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CORRECTION: Make that 6'4", 6'11" wingspan. Still pretty damn impressive.

kdp59 wrote:I'd like to see him in the regular rotation by playoff time, if he keeps improving.

that assumes Brad will use as many as 10 players then of course.

kdp,

Romeo has only played 203 minutes, total, in his NBA career? How many more minutes do you think he'll need before trusting to throw him into a playoff game that isn't a blow out or, at least, well in-hand?


bob


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