Who is Romeo Langford?
To most in Boston, he’s already a wasted draft pick. When you hear “Romeo Langford” you usually hear “is ruled out tonight” immediately following.
I don’t blame you for forgetting about the Celtics 2019 14th overall selection.
Let’s go back to the summer of 2018 and 247sports.com’s final ranking of their senior class. Langford was the fifth-best senior just behind fellow NBA’ers RJ Barrett, Nassir Little, Cam Reddish and Bol Bol.
That’s right, the college recruiting experts had Langford ahead of Zion Williamson.
Langford showed out in one season at Indiana enough to be a lottery pick but just hasn’t been handed good luck. Physically, he came into the league with a body modern day scouts love -- 6-foot-4, 215 pounds with a 6-foot-11 wingspan. There was no doubt that Langford could hang with the big boys physically at the next level. But his luck in getting that opportunity has been an issue.
Romeo came into the league recovering from thumb surgery, an injury that plagued his only college season and he decided to play through without the public knowing for quite awhile. When Romeo recovered from surgery after the season, he entered his very first NBA training camp with a tweaked left groin.
His rookie season didn’t get started until mid-December and was filled with minor injuries and inconsistent play in just 32 games with 370 total minutes.
We knew Langford wouldn’t be ready for the first chunk of this Celtics season after his rookie year ended due to a torn wrist ligament. The timeline was 3-4 months from his Sept. 2020 surgery.
When Langford was cleared to return to play, he quickly landed in the league’s health and safety protocols. He made his 2020-21 season debut April 3rd in the blowout win against the Charlotte Hornets.
So what should we expect from the mystery that is Langford?
I know for a fact that Romeo can be a plus-defender in the NBA. He’s shown that in a limited sample size of 37 games in nearly two years. He’s quick on his feet, has long arms and absolutely knows that his way to earning playing time is through the defensive end.
This team has a real issue with perimeter defense. That’s no surprise considering Kemba is on the roster. Allowing straight line drives breaks down the entire defense.
Langford is capable of keeping good athletes in front of him while providing great help defense.
“I feel like I’m my best in isolation things and not letting my guy go around me.,” Langford said. “So with that being said, it means the team doesn’t really have to overhelp as much and give up more threes when it comes to the guy that I’m checking.”
I hate to direct you to a YouTube highlight package but some of Langford’s most impressive highlights from his rookie season were blocks in transition or help defense.
Dont get me wrong, there will be growing pains as with every young player.
“Sometimes I slip up on defensive assignments,” Langford said last week. “Out there I just be more focused and making some of the decision making when I do catch it on the run. Like last game, I fell on my face and threw the ball away a couple of times.Those are the mistakes I’m talking about. I work on those every day and that’s why it’s frustrating when those mistakes do happen. Because I know I put so much time in and I do that and I see that every day. When I do make a mistake I get on myself. But that’s one thing I work on is not getting on myself, just keep playing and move on to the next play.”
In game 35 of Langford’s career and just game 3 of his sophomore season, Langford got the start in what became a Boston 101-99 win over the Knicks. Now that was purely a product of the Celtics not having Kemba Walker but for him to be starting after just 26 minutes of playing time in a return from injury and battle with COVID tells you what Brad Stevens thinks of him.
“Romeo is a really important piece of what we want to do,” Walker said after Langford’s season debut. “He worked super, super hard to get back to where he is now. I’m excited for him, excited for his opportunity because he’s gotten so much better. It’s been a rough year for him to try to get back on the court. I’m really excited he’s back and tonight he was great. He didn’t skip a beat at all. Defensively, he was great. I believe he only took maybe two shots or so. It will come. He’s going to be key to what we are trying to do.”
Did we forget that Langford was the first guy off the bench in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs Miami Heat? Brad clearly trusts this kid.
You may also have forgotten that 81 seconds after that substitution, Langford left that playoff game with an injury and never returned.
Just like Langford’s availability, the Boston bench has been completely unreliable. There is a clear opportunity to grab 16-22 minutes per game in a three-and-d type of role.
While his shot is still a work in progress, Romeo’s form looks more fluid and of someone who has put in the reps. Both of his made threes were impressive against the Knicks last week. First was a step-back three of the dribble after getting Taj Gibson to bite on a shot fake. A legitimately difficult shot in today’s NBA game. He pulled it off like he’s done it a thousand times.
The next made three against the Knicks last week was impressive because of the time and place. Immanuel Quickley was sagging off into the paint while Langford spotted up on the right wing with Boston up 75-70 with nine minutes remaining.
Romeo received the pass from Payton Pritchard with :17 on the shot clock. He immediately recognized the defensive coverage and without hesitation drilled the three.
“Scared money don’t make no money.” And scared NBA shooters are bad shooters. The confidence and the form are there for Langford to have future success.
So while the attention was all on Evan Fournier coming to Boston at the trade deadline and the lack of a major move by Ainge, maybe the more valuable acquisition was just Romeo Langford getting healthy.
I’m buying all the Langford stock I can get. (Disclaimer: I’m a Hoosier.) Get on the train while you can. I love this kid’s potential and so does Brad Stevens.
"I think he adds a great deal of value to our team," Stevens says of Langford. "He knows how to play."
Let’s just pray he can stay healthy.
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Please enjoy this video Marcus Smart pranking Romeo Langford at Chipotle from his rookie year.
Romeo is the guy you want on your team -- able to adjust on the fly and take orders from teammates. What a guy.