If you were going to make a list of needs for this Celtics’ roster heading into the month of November, another 3-and-D wing would probably be at the top of the team’s wish list. The Celtics are well stocked in this area among their stars in Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown but there looked to be a bit of a hole when it came to the bench unit over the first two months of the year, especially as injuries started to pile up.
Brad Wanamaker has some good size for ball handling guard at 6-foot-5 but he lacks the athleticism and length to handle speedier guards and isn’t exactly a high-volume catch-and-shoot player. Semi Ojeleye’s improved his jump shot but is very one dimensional on the offensive end and really shines more against strength than speed on the defensive end. Javonte Green has been a nice surprise performer after making the team as a 15th man but his outside shooting can make him a liability on the offensive end.
The final unknown in this group entering December was none other than Romeo Langford. The No. 14 overall pick has brought back flashbacks of James Young over his first six months as a Celtic mostly due to his lack of availability. A thumb surgery in the spring ended his chances of playing summer league before he was even drafted. Once he finally got healthy, a pair of sprained ankles along with other assorted injuries during the past two months limited him to just one minute of playing time with the Celtics and five total games with the Maine Red Claws prior to Wednesday’s game in Dallas.
There were rumblings from fans about Langford being a bust due to this inactivity, which seemed somewhat premature. The chatter didn’t get to Langford though as the injuries piled up.
“It hasn’t been really that hard,” Langford said of the downtime and rumblings. “Because I feel like I’ve got a good group of teammates that keep me focused and keep me on the right track and also a coaching staff and inner circle that helps me make sure I’m focused and always being ready.”
With Smart and Hayward sidelined this week and Carsen Edwards sent up to Maine for an extended run, the time finally came for Langford in the past three games. He got his feet wet (five minutes) against Dallas on Wednesday night but Brad Stevens was happy to throw him to the wolves against a pair of inferior opponents this weekend. After six points against the Pistons on Friday, Langford looked like he belonged on Sunday night. While Tatum will steal the headlines from this one (rightfully so with a career-high 39 points) the bigger development from Boston’s perspective for this season could be Langford, who posted career-highs in minutes (23), points (8), rebounds (4) along with a plus-22 in a 119-93 Celtics’ win.
A revamped jump shot
The Celtics have spent Langford’s entire time with the team revamping his jump shot after an ugly shooting season (with a hurt thumb) dragged his 3-point shooting percentage down to 28 percent at Indiana over his freshman year.
“At first I was like, they don’t know what they’re talking about,” Langford said when the C’s approached him about changing his form. “But I bought into it because I didn’t shoot the ball that well last year, as you can see. But I just bought in and just kept taking it day-by-day, seeing it improve. And now, where it’s at, I can’t be mad about changing it.”
The 6-foot-6 forward saw his hard work pay dividends on Sunday night, knocking down the first two 3s of his NBA career in rhythm while the Hornets honed in on Kemba Walker and Brown.
Romeo Langford with his first career 3-pointer pic.twitter.com/yb9fXbbnA0
— Max Carlin (@maxacarlin) December 22, 2019
Good to see Romeo Langford making his threes! Entered the draft with this as an area of concern, but he’s looking sharp so far. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/BCd2BrhJGG
— Celtics Lead (@CelticsLead) December 23, 2019
