The Celtics are going to need Romeo Langford to contribute in order to get to the NBA Finals.
That may seem like an extreme statement for a rookie who barely got off the bench for the first three Celtics games in the Orlando bubble over the past week but it’s a factual one. At some point in September in all likelihood, Gordon Hayward is going to leave Orlando for the birth of his son and miss at least two games of a critical series (if the Celtics are still playing at that point).
Some of Hayward’s minutes will be distributed among the starters and Marcus Smart, but someone else is going to have to pick up some of that playing time and defensive versatility that Hayward provides.
For that reason, it was a little bit surprising to see Langford ride the pine so much over the past week in Orlando after a couple of encouraging games in scrimmages. He had been a steady defensive contributor over the second half of the season for Boston but still found himself stuck behind the likes of Semi Ojeleye and Grant Williams even while Boston’s defense struggled with those guys on the court.
Seeking a spark on Wednesday night against the Nets, Brad Stevens wisely went deeper into his bench for some untapped youth with upside. Langford was the first sub into the game in the first quarter and Rob Williams saw his first meaningful action in Orlando a minute later. Less than a quarter later, the duo helped propel Boston to a 20-point lead that sustained all night.
“I thought the energy, overall, was good, for our whole team,” Stevens said of the win. “Thought we came out and played the right way. I thought the second unit, obviously, did a lot of good things. Romeo’s defense was excellent. Rob, obviously, gave us a lot once he got settled in, defensively, and then, offensively, he gave us a lot at the rim all day. On down the line.”
Let’s examine the efforts of Langford and Williams for a better sense of what went well and whether it means anything down the line for the C’s when they return to full strength with Kemba Walker back in the lineup.
Romeo Langford
4 points (1/3 FG, 2/2 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, +27 in 26 minutes
Analysis: Timelord will get the limelight because of his career-best numbers but the bigger development in this game was Langford when it comes to potential playoff contributions. The Celtics are a team right now looking for defensive energy and consistency and Langford provided both in the first half. Opposing guards and wings have been lightening up the C’s on various nights all year and Langford is a viable option to slow them down after Smart.
He’s much faster than Semi Ojeleye or Grant Williams on the perimeter and provides good length as evidenced by his two blocks on the night. Caris LeVert had a ho-hum game overall (13 points) after destroying the C’s back in March and Langford’s defense was a factor on that front. The Celtics need defenders to who can stay with their man on the drive and Langford has been doing that just about as well as anyone on this team lately.
This is elite stuff from @yeahyeah22
- Lateral agility allows him to stay in front of his man on drive
- Strength allows him to absorb double-bump, including second that could've been called offensive foul
- Elite ball skills allow him to swipe ball away while absorbing contact pic.twitter.com/74Ji74j0n5
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) August 6, 2020
Time Lord with the throw down ? pic.twitter.com/SRGkEbZbNn
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 6, 2020
REJECTED pic.twitter.com/wg8mBFBLX0
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 6, 2020
TIME LORD INCOMING ⏰? pic.twitter.com/Ey2xCYXYlv
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 6, 2020
TIME LORD'S DIFFERENT ? pic.twitter.com/JnVCIWXyTJ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 6, 2020