Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Celtics Notes: Langford, Brown, Williams, Horford

October 10th 2021 at 9:10am CST by Arthur Hill

Jaylen Brown‘s positive COVID-19 test is giving Celtics guard Romeo Langford more preseason playing time, and he hopes to turn that opportunity into a regular spot in the rotation, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Langford was used as a starter in Friday night’s game and delivered 13 points in 19 minutes while hitting five of six shots from the field.

“I thought Romeo was great with the starting lineup, played well offensively and defensively,” coach Ime Udoka said. “Obviously shot it well going three-for-four from 3. But does a lot of little things as well—solid defender, ball mover, just a guy that knows how to play with that unit and you saw it last year. So he did a good job. All of those guys are gonna get an opportunity. It’s just a matter of maximizing that and trying to play the right way, and I think they’re all making a concerted effort to do that.”

Boston selected Langford with the 14th pick in 2019, but he saw limited playing time under former coach Brad Stevens, getting into a combined 50 games during his first two seasons. The coaching change provides a fresh opportunity, and Robb believes Langford will be in the mix for backcourt minutes off the bench once the season begins.

“I feel good,” Langford told reporters after the game. “Body feels good. Mind is good. Just happy that I finally got a chance to do a training camp, a healthy summer, and it just feels good to be in a little rhythm and being able to work out in a practice with the guys leading into the regular season, and just building off from here.”

There’s more from Boston:

  • Brown remains in quarantine, but is expected to be ready for the October 20 season opener, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Brown is the only Celtics player who has been affected, according to Udoka.
  • Friday’s game marked the first time that big men Robert Williams and Al Horford were on the court together, notes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Udoka may use some bigger lineups this season, and Horford’s versatility can help make the combination with Williams successful, Weiss adds. “With him, I need to space the floor more,” Horford said. “That’s kind of what I have to do, and he’s the kind of big who can pass the ball a little bit. When he rolls to the basket, it puts a lot of pressure on the rim and it opens stuff up for the perimeter. That’s why I feel comfortable that if we need to go to that lineup, it will work.”
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic reviews the Celtics’ offseason moves and examines whether they were able to fix the frontcourt problems they had last season.
Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0
View Comments (15)