The Celtics' summer league team has been hard at work for the last couple days at the Auerbach Center after the official roster was released on Monday:
The team opens up action on Saturday in Las Vegas to kick off a week's worth of games but there is plenty to keep tabs on the meantime. Let's go through a few items of note as a very talented young roster gets to work to make a positive first impression.
Robert Williams is eager for his opportunity: There will be plenty of competition at the center spot after the signing of three big men in the last two days. However, the highest upside of the bunch may belong with Williams. He will have a lot to prove during summer league action, but he's eager for a chance to get into the mix for rotation minutes with Horford and Baynes out the door.
“It’s a whole lot of opportunity,” Williams said. “Like I said, this is free agency going on, so you don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know where people are going to land and none of that, so it’s a lot of opportunity that I’m grinding for. Putting in the work, hopefully things happen. ... I’m trying to get out here and play. I’m trying to showcase. Everybody’s trying to showcase, man. There’s a chip on your shoulder, always. Especially, not being able to play that much in Summer League last year, not being able to prove myself like I wanted. It’s another opportunity going in as a second-year player. Just got to keep that mentality.”
Romeo Langford is not going to play due to injury and is working on his shooting form in creative ways: The swingman is still recovering from thumb injury so he won't be cleared for live action in summer league. However, he's still getting in some work with the team, including reshaping his shooting form via a creative method. He was seen wearing a ping pong paddle on his left hand today at practice.
“We’ve got a big match lined up with Forrest Gump, so we gotta keep him fresh with the paddle in his hand," Celtics Summer League coach Scott Morrison said with a laugh. "It’s kind of like putting the basketball in the baby’s crib. I don’t want to speak for Coach (Joe) Mazzulla, who is working with him, but I believe it has something to do with keeping his guide hand thumb off the ball when he follows through.”
“I used to shoot with a little hitch in my shot,” Langford said of the paddle. “If you want to be consistent and be one of the best shooters in the NBA, you can’t shoot with a hitch in your shot. Most good shooters have a two-motion release, so just trying to eliminate that little glitch or hitch. Just try to make it all one smooth release.”
? Romeo Langford shooting with a ping pong paddle attached to his left hand #Celtics #WBZ @yeahyeah22 pic.twitter.com/oCDDBwkxoe
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) July 2, 2019