NBA Notebook: Romeo Langford, like the Celtics, is long on potential, short on production

The Boston Celtics did what the Boston Celtics – yes, even this season’s team – should do and that was easily beat the Houston Rockets.

While Celtics fans love it whenever this team wins, there was an undeniable “we got punked!” vibe many had afterward.

The win itself was cool, but the one thing folks really wanted to see – Romeo Langford play – never happened.

Langford, who has been out all season recovering from off-season wrist surgery and then COVID-19, was not on the injury report prior to the Rockets game.

It seemed the perfect return to action, right?

What better team to make your season debut against than the Rockets, a team that it’s literally in their best interest to lose games.

Get the duck boats out, because Romeo’s back!

And then, the Celtics Charlie Brown’d us with the last-minute news Langford would not play because of, “post Health & Safety Protocols reconditioning.”



As someone who makes a living off of word usage, kudos to the Celtics for coming up with a unique way of saying the kid isn’t in shape to play.

Considering the amount of time he has missed because of injury combined with testing positive for the coronavirus, the unpredictability of his return does make sense.

But his up-in-the-air status serves as a reminder of how the Celtics remain a team heavy on promise that has consistently come up short when it comes to production which as we all know, is ultimately what defines a team and its players.

The reasoning for being patient with Langford is plausible. But that doesn’t change the fact that Langford is a second-year player who is having a second lost season where he again, remains high on potential and promise with little to show in terms of actual production.

And for all the analytics breaking down the team’s defense or the lack of bench scoring or whatever other data point you want to delve into, it all comes back to one thing and that is Celtics players by and large, underperforming or in the case of Langford, not performing at all.

Danny Ainge, Boston’s President of Basketball Operations, is as eager as any of us to see Langford back on the floor.

“It’s hard to know for sure (when Langford will play) because he’s trying to come back from Covid,” Ainge told BostonSportsJournal.com. “He felt he was in a really good place. He’s day-to-day at this point. We just want to be wise with him.”

Having not played since September 17, 2020, it’s understandable why Ainge and the Green Team brass are being cautious about Langford’s return.

But that still doesn’t change the fact that Langford in many ways serves as the example of who the Boston Celtics are right now.

A team that’s long on potential that has fallen well short of what matters most – play and production.

FOURNIER’S TRANSITION GAME

Evan Fournier had a memorable debut with the Boston Celtics for all the wrong reasons, missing all 10 of his shots from the field which ranked among the worst debuts for a player who took double-digit shot attempts in their first game with a new team.

But as Ainge pointed out, Fournier’s struggles did not come as a total shock.

“He’s tried to fit in with a whole new group of guys, a new coaching staff, and a new role with no practice,” Ainge told BSJ. “From what I’ve seen from Evan, even in the first game when he didn’t’ make any shots, I like his size, his strength, his experience. I’m not worried about the shooting part of it.”

Fournier rewarded that confidence with a pair of solid follow-up games, the last of which being a 23-point performance off the Celtics bench in their 118-102 win over the Houston Rockets.

“I can already tell he’s not really a guy that rides the emotional roller coaster, he’s a pretty even-keeled guy, and he’s come into work every day and gotten his normal amount of shots up, doesn’t look bothered by the fact that he started in that first game 0-for-10,” said Brad Stevens following the win over Houston. “Didn’t look bothered by the fact that we didn’t give him enough shots as a team the other day. He’s just trying to figure out how he can help impact us and we did a better job of finding him tonight, especially once he got going.”

Ainge added, “We still have a ways to go to understand how he can help us. And, just getting that chemistry with our team, figuring out the best role where he can help us. But I’m excited about Evan. I think he can be a big help to us. We know he’s a good player. I’m not worried about Evan in any way. The only question is how long will it take for him to feel comfortable with our group and in our system, which is always a question at trade time. I’m confident he will. I’m not worried at all about him.”

PRAISE FOR TIMELORD CONTINUES POURING IN

Teammates have been saying for a while that one of Robert Williams’s low-key strengths as a player, is his passing. Well, it was on full display Friday night as Williams flirted with his first career triple-double before finishing with 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.

“Rob is special,” said Jayson Tatum. “He makes a difference when he’s out there.”

Stats aside, Williams is starting to do what ultimately separates him from any of Boston’s other centers this season, the current group as well as Daniel Theis who was traded to Chicago.

Williams has the ability to not only impact the game with his own play but make those around him better.

Evan Fournier had 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field. Of his eight made baskets, Williams was the assist man four times.

“It was very Bam Adebayo-like,” texted an Eastern Conference scout to BSJ regarding Williams’ performance against the Rockets.

I replied that Williams is due for an extension soon.

“Oh, I know. We all know,” replied the scout. “He’s playing like the guy that a lot of us thought at one time was a top-10 talent coming out of college. Now it’s time for him to get paid like one.”

ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS

Evan Fournier delivered a historic performance against the Houston Rockets on Friday night. Yes, historic performances against the lowly Rockets still count, people.

Fournier, playing in his third game as a Celtic, scored 20 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter which came on a flawless 7-for-7 shooting performance. He became only the second Celtics player in the last 25 seasons to score 20 points while shooting 100 percent in a quarter. The last Celtic prior to Fournier to do so was Paul Pierce in 2009 against the Chicago Bulls.