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.
