Grant Williams, Romeo Langford Serve As Quiet Positives In Boston Celtics Season Opener

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisgrenham/2021/10/21/grant-williams-romeo-langford-serve-as-quiet-positives-in-boston-celtics-season-opener/



Grant Williams, Romeo Langford Serve As Quiet Positives In Boston Celtics Season Opener



Chris Grenham
Contributor



NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 20: Grant Williams #12 of the Boston Celtics dribbles as Evan Fournier ... [+] GETTY IMAGES



The Boston Celtics fell to the New York Knicks Wednesday night 138-134 in a chaotic double-overtime thriller. Jaylen Brown had 46 points on 16-of-30 shooting in 46 minutes, while Jayson Tatum struggled to find his rhythm. He finished 7-of-30 from the floor with 20 points.

On nights where Tatum struggles to get comfortable, Boston will need its depth to step up. Unfortunately for Ime Udoka, he already had a shortened bench entering his first game as a head coach. Al Horford was inactive as he remains in quarantine due to covid-19 protocols, and Josh Richardson was ruled out just hours before tip-off due to a migraine. Grant Williams got the start, while Romeo Langford picked up minutes in Richardson’s absence. It won’t grab headlines, but the two young players were a bright spot in the Celtics dramatic loss at Madison Square Garden.

I know what you’re thinking when it comes to Williams, so let’s start with the negative and get it over with. Williams had a tough matchup for various stretches of the season opener against Julius Randle, who has the size advantage between the two forwards. He was overpowered by Randle a few times, and the all-star forward had no issue shooting over him on multiple possessions despite Williams’ good positioning. Even when Williams did all he could, Randle was still too much more often than not. Yes, he was overmatched. Was that surprising? No. OK, now let’s move on.

Offensively, Williams kept the Celtics in this game down the stretch of the fourth quarter. In roughly seven fourth-quarter minutes, Williams scored 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting with zero turnovers. He nailed three 3’s late, confirming his confidence from beyond the arc that he had consistently spoken about all preseason. His fourth quarter alone should give Celtics fans hope for what he can bring to the back-end of Boston’s rotation this year.

Langford was no different. With Richardson out, Langford played 22 minutes and shot 4-of-6 from the floor for 10 points. He looked confident and comfortable shooting the 3, which would force the Celtics staff to find him more minutes if that became a regular part of his game. Brown was complimentary of the Indiana product after the loss.


“Romeo Langford played amazing,” Brown said. “Romeo, a young guy, he came out and you would’ve thought this is what he had been doing all along. So, continuing to get him those opportunities — I was extremely satisfied seeing what Romeo could do. I think he can continue to get better.”

Langford and Williams were both players seemingly on the outside looking in on the rotation as training camp wrapped up last night. But when both were presented with an opportunity, they took advantage of it, and that is a major bright spot for Udoka and his staff. This team lacks shooting — well, Williams and Langford went 5-of-8 from deep tonight.


Time will tell if that is just a flash in the pan, however this type of performance gives a much rosier outlook on the end of the Celtics rotation. When the young guys can step up, Boston’s roster looks much more well-rounded.


Bob
MY NOTE:  Grant finished with 15 points.  An 11 point 4th quarter is big, clutch.  I predict Randle is going to be an All-Star again this year, he is 6'8", 250# and is an extremely adept dribbler.  He will bulldoze you if you're not very big or long, or twirl past you if you are very big or long.  I think Ime's defensive change, to switch on everybody except Randle, and keep long and mobile Robert Williams on him might have worked if the other 4 players on the floor had executed that scheme.  Otherwise?  Nope, Randle is just too strong.


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