Tag: Romeo Langford

Tacko Fall, Celtics’ rookies could see extended minutes on Thursday

With the third seed locked up in the playoffs, the Celtics will sit several players in the final seeding game vs. the Wizards.

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Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown are among the players that will sit on Thursday as the Boston Celtics play their eighth and final seeding game against the Washington Wizards.

The Celtics announced that six total players will sit in the last game prior to the start of the playoffs after securing the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Boston will play either the Indiana Pacers or Philadelphia 76ers in the first round.

With six rotational players set to sit on Thursday, several of the Celtics’ rookies — like Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, Carsen Edwards, Tremont Waters and Tacko Fall — project to get extended minutes after playing sparingly thus far during the season restart.

While some teams with little to play for have used the restart as an opportunity to get playing time for rookies or younger players, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has used his starters and veterans almost exclusively to test rotations ahead of the postseason.

The rookie players on the Celtics likely won’t see much time once the playoffs begin so Thursday will serve as an opportunity to get some run in during the final seeding game.

The Celtics will tip-off against the Wizards at 12 p.m. ET.

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WATCH: Romeo Langford’s 2019-20 highlights with Maine Red Claws

Boston Celtics rookie shooting guard Romeo Langford established himself as a solid defender on the second unit in 2019-20.

While Boston Celtics rookie shooting guard Romeo Langford might have missed Friday’s exhibition scrimmage against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first of the team’s three scrimmages of the Disney NBA restart, don’t expect him to miss as many games as he did early in his inaugural season.

This time around, it was just a minor stomach bug, though the Indiana product missed much of the first half of his rookie season to similarly minor injuries.

But, when he was available, Langford put in plenty of time with the Maine Red Claws, where he averaged 10.6 points, 2.7 boards and 1.3 assists per game with the Celtics’ G League developmental affiliate.

Watch the video embedded above to see some of his best moments with the Red Claws in 2019-20 so far; hopefully we’ll be seeing some more Celtics highlights coming from his play in the restart.

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Brad Stevens: Kemba Walker game-time decision; Romeo Langford a go

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens revealed All-Star point guard Kemba Walker will be a game-time decision for Sunday’s scrimmage with the Phoenix Suns.

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens revealed at Sunday’s pregame media availability All-Star point guard Kemba Walker would be a game-time decision as far as playing in the team’s exhibition scrimmage against the Phoenix Suns.

Walker, who has been taking things very slow as he and the Celtics ramp up his post-hiatus activity with an abundance of caution, recently practiced with the team with demonstrably greater pep in his step, with Stevens sharing he has his ‘burst back.’

“We’ll see how Kemba warms up, and make a decision after that,” related the former Butler coach. The UConn product had felt some minor discomfort in his often-balky knee back in Boston when players were still doing individual workouts.

This prompted the team’s trainers to move slowly to increase his activity while he rebuilt strength in his knee.

Also revealed by coach Stevens was that rookie shooting guard Romeo Langford will be available.

The Indiana product had been sidelined in Friday afternoon’s scrimmage loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder with a stomach issue, but is good to go today.

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Romeo Langford practiced on Saturday after missing scrimmage game

Langford did not play in the Celtics’ first scrimmage on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to an illness.

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Boston Celtics rookie Romeo Langford returned to practice on Saturday after suffering a recent illness, head coach Brad Stevens told reporters on a conference call.

Langford did not play in the Celtics’ first scrimmage on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Stevens said afterward that Langford had a stomach bug and could have played but the team opted to hold him out of the contest as a safety precaution.

Langford was not seen in the team bench area during the scrimmage, causing speculation to rise regarding his status moving forward. According to Stevens, though, via Chris Grenham of Forbes, Langford is doing well and went through a full practice on Saturday.

Langford battled several injuries this season and, as a result, struggled to find his way into the rotation. In 27 games with the Celtics, he averaged 2.6 points and 1.2 rebounds but flashed his defensive potential on several occasions. He is looking to pick up where he left off before the season shut down and it appears as though he is healthy again after battling a stomach bug.

The Celtics play their next scrimmage game on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns.

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Boston rookie Romeo Langford missed OKC scrimmage with stomach issue

Boston Celtics first-year shooting guard Romeo Langford missed Friday’s scrimmage with the Thunder due to a stomach bug.

If you noticed a conspicuous absence on the Boston Celtics bench in Friday’s exhibition scrimmage against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday, you are not alone.

Rookie shooting guard Romeo Langford missed the friendly, the Celtics’ first live game action against an opponent since early March, due to stomach issues according to head coach Brad Stevens after the 98 – 84 loss.

Stevens was quick to note there is no suspicion it’s anything serious, and particularly COVID-19.

“They don’t think it’s anything big,” offered the coach. “Obviously, antennas go up right now and around here whenever you have that; we just decided to keep him back. Sounds like he’s doing better and that was it.”

The Indiana product had been flashing signs of becoming a capable defender off the bench for the team and even hints his offensive game might be coming along as well after a series of minor injuries derailed his early inaugural campaign.

And from the looks of the defense for the bench as well as the starters, it seems the team could have used Langford’s help in the loss Friday.

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WATCH: Boston Celtics Wing Romeo Langford 19-20 FULL Highlight Reel

Boston Celtics rookie wing Romeo Langford was becoming a valuable defender before the hiatus shut down the 2019-20 season; watch his best moments from it here.

Boston Celtics rookie forward saw the start of his inaugural campaign in the NBA go a little rough as a litany of minor injuries mostly kept him off of the court, but as time went on he began to show some real value even as a first-year player.

Most of that value has come on the defensive side of the ball, with the Indiana University product demonstrating aptitude as a solid cover for even some of the league’s top wings in short stints.

And while his shooting has yet to come around at the NBA and G League levels alike, his 54.8 % rate from 2-point range with the Maine Red Claws and solid numbers shooting from the elbow and finishing near-basket makes at the NBA level hint he’ll be coming along soon on the other end of the ball.

Watch all of his best moments from his rookie season to date with the team-produced highlight reel embedded above.

And try not to get too excited to see him play in the soon-to-arrive scrimmage games starting today in the meantime.

Time Lord sees progress in Langford, Edwards and Fall post-hiatus

Boston Celtics second-year center Robert Williams III sees progress in the games of Romeo Langford, Carsen Edwards and Tacko Fall post-hiatus.

Boston Celtics second-year center Robert Williams agrees with the team’s head coach Brad Stevens that the Celtics’ second unit is looking better in practice as the team gears up for its first inter-team scrimmage this Friday.

Speaking at Monday’s post-practice media availability at the Disney-hosted restart, Time Lord shared two players in particular stood out to him in terms of growth in their games since the start of the COVID-19 hiatus in early March.

“As far as different-looking players, I’ll go with Romeo [Langford and Carson [Edwards],” he explained.

“As a second group, you’ve got the chip on your … shoulder when you’re playing against the first group, so you always want to bring it. And I feel like maybe in previous practices before the season ended,  the second group had been getting down on themselves, and stopped competing but now [they are] fighting back.”

“A lot of trash talk makes them more competitive,” he added.

Between injuries and cold streaks, a lot of the rookies playing on Boston’s second unit seemed frustrated by their inability to get things going on the offensive end before the break, and perhaps no more so than Langford and Edwards.

Asked what was different, the Louisiana native shared it was mainly an attitude adjustment, which makes sense.

For first-year players, simply adjusting to the exigencies of playing at the NBA level requires a considerable adjustment from life at the NCAA level, where they had long been the best or nearly so on their teams.

Not so anymore — playing time must be earned, especially on a roster with designs on contention.

Williams related the duo have been showing “more aggressiveness, more … realizing what they’re capable of. Just leaning on each other, being able to take criticism on their own game.”

“They’ve grown up a lot as far as being on the court,” observed the Lord of Time.

Boston two way fan favorite Tacko Fall also stood out as a player who has been making strides forward.

The Senegalese center has been putting in work to become a more mobile, more capable player for the modern NBA, and Williams has seen his hard work manifest into better play in practices.

“We love Tock, Tock is taking any challenges thrown at him, sometimes Tacko may play the middle of the zone [defense] the whole practice, guarding everybody,” explained the Texas A&M product.

“He never shies away from anything; he wants to be different. He doesn’t want to be known as a seven-footer who can’t move. You can see the progress he’s made, you can see that he’s grinding, and he wants to be known for different stuff.”

“You can do anything but respect it,” Williams added.

The former Aggie has made big strides himself, reportedly faster than he was in the past, and fully healthy after missing a big chunk of the season due to a severe hip bruise.

The nascent passing game and better overall body control has hinted that the second-year center might be ready for a bigger role on the team.

And with the reported growth of his peers on the second unit, the Celtics might indeed be as deadly of an opponent post-hiatus as teammate Enes Kanter believes them.

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Celtics’ Romeo Langford working on regaining trust from teammates

Langford said his goal ahead of the season restart is trying to pick up where he left off in March and regain his teammates’ trust again.

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When the season shut down in March, Boston Celtics rookie Romeo Langford felt as though he was beginning to make strides on the court. Now, he is attempting to return to that level as the season returns this month at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida.

Langford battled several injuries this season and, as a result, struggled to find his way into the rotation. However, Langford started to show promise on the court, which was highlighted by his ability on defense. His overall numbers won’t show it but Langford made his presence felt on defense.

Ultimately, it was his play on defense that forced head coach Brad Stevens to keep him on the court during crunch-time situations. In his first career start, he helped the Celtics to a victory over the Orlando Magic with his defensive play down the stretch.

Speaking Friday on a conference call, Langford said his goal during practices and scrimmages ahead of the season restart is trying to pick up where he left off in March.

My mindset is really just pick up where I left off at. I feel like before the season was suspended for a little bit, I was getting a little stride of getting Brad’s trust and the veterans’ trust and I just want to pick up on that. With this training camp, and the scrimmages, I’m just going to help gain that back and just build up off of that.

With Kemba Walker dealing with a nagging knee injury, the Celtics could be forced to rely on Langford more once the season resumes. Langford has shown that he can contribute when called upon and his ability to make plays could be crucial for the Celtics.

The Celtics kick off the season restart July 31 vs. the Milwaukee Bucks.

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Boston rookie Romeo Langford’s shot ‘more fluid … more natural’ now

Boston Celtics rookie Romeo Langford is confident in his rebuilt shot, and we’ll get our first look at it in live action in less than a week.

The Boston Celtics are now officially less than a week away from their first real test of how they stand in terms of conditioning, mindset and chemistry with their first scrimmage taking place against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, July 24th.

And with that test will be a look at where rookie wing Romeo Langford is at in terms of his shot, which he has been putting in a lot of work on since last summer.

That work’s fruits — delayed by a litany of minor injuries — may finally be getting its chance to see the light of day, as was Langford’s progress on the defensive end of the ball.

Speaking at the team’s pre-practice media availability Friday, the Indiana product spoke about how he had prepared his shot — and more importantly, kept himself from falling back into bad habits over the hiatus.

“I worked on [my jumper] so much with [assistant coach] Joe [Mazzulla] in the summer and during the season that it’s really hard for me to fall back into what I was normally shooting. I may shoot like one or two [of my old jumpers] here and there, like my little jumper, but really it’s as never a problem anymore. It’s more fluid, it’s more natural to me now, so it’s much easier.”

He’s worked hard to stay mentally prepared as well as physically, too — evidently aware of how complacency in the NBA can become a one-way ticket to a lesser league.

“[I] keep the right mindset that I had during the season, just staying ready — you never know when your name’s going to be called. Just be ready and make the most of it. I’m going to play my hardest when I get out there just like I did, and just do whatever it takes.”

And while we’re tantalized by the prospect of Langford’s shot opening things up for the team’s second unit rotation, all aspects of the game were starting to come together for the Indiana native when the season got suspended.

His defense, in particular, was noticeably improved — with the first-year wing even getting some of the NBA’s toughest covers in short stints.

“Things definitely slow down a lot. I was watching a lot of film when I wasn’t playing. Plus, when I was playing, it made when I got out there a lot … easier with some things, and I felt like my defense was in a real good stride before the season ended.”

Langford emerging from the COVID-19 layoff with a consistent shot may be too much to ask of a prospect with so little consistent floor time, but the theory of him as a more complete player would be a huge boon to Boston’s offense-starved bench.

Even if the former Hoosier only manages an occasional jumper matched with the sort of solid defense we were seeing out of the rookie in late February and early March, he’ll be a helpful part of the rotation.

But the hope is that he might be ready to shoulder a little more of the load on both ends.

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WATCH: Celtics back at Auerbach Center for start of mandatory practice

The Boston Celtics are back at it, putting in work at the Waltham practice facilities in anticipation of the Disney restart.

The Boston Celtics began mandatory workouts at their Auerbach Center practice facilities in Waltham, Massachusetts on July 1st as the franchise prepares to restart the 2019-20 NBA season at Disney’s NBA campus.

That campus — held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida — is designed to function as a safer alternative than having teams travel to play one another as the league seeks to finish the coronavirus-interrupted season.

The Celtics had been hosting voluntary individual workouts before Wednesday, with the same precautions in place to prevent the spread of the virus in their home market continuing for the first few days of mandatory workouts.

Those measures include each player using their own hoop and ball with careful cleaning of any equipment used after it is put away, and coaching staff wearing masks when assisting players.

On the first day of mandatory workouts, the folks at MassLive got their hands on some video of point guards Kemba Walker and Tremont Waters, center Daniel Theis and wing Romeo Langford putting up shots.

The second day of workouts saw Theis continue his conditioning with some new faces — forward Semi Ojeleye and big mam Enes Kanter.

If you want to catch a glimpse of how Boston is getting back into game shape, check out the two embedded videos above. There’s still a long way to go before we see these guys ready for live-game action, but if nothing else their aim seems as good as ever.

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