Langford staying composed
Rookie shows calm demeanor of veteran
LOS ANGELES — On one level, Brad Stevens appreciates the ability of a player to never let his emotions show on an EKG.
In that respect Romeo Langford could take polygraphs for a living.
But the Celtics rookie carries this chilly ice water thing further. He’s as close to a flatliner as anyone Stevens has coached.
“I’ve always wondered that, about the guys that don’t seem like they have a pulse when they’re walking around,” the Celtics coach said recently. “That everything just kind of goes off their shoulder. But I’ve had a few guys like that over the years. And then you throw them in in huge, huge moments and they still don’t seem like they’re affected by it.
“And I mean that in a good way. So he’s done a good job in those two moments. I don’t think he’s going to be overwhelmed by anything. He’s just got a lot of learning to do and a lot of growing to do.”
Thus far Langford’s growth has been tied to the Celtics’ varying health. When Jaylen Brown missed a recent stretch of time with ankle trouble, Langford’s playing time jumped. He played 28 minutes against Orlando on Feb. 5 and acquitted himself well guarding Evan Fournier.
Two nights later against Atlanta he sprung for a career-high 16 points, including 2-for-5 3-point shooting, in 29 minutes.
Brown returned, and the rookie’s minutes dropped, before inching up again Friday night, to 19 minutes in Minneapolis when Kemba Walker was scratched due to a swollen left knee.
This time Langford missed the only three shots he took. But for all of the promise and fluidity Langford has shown with the ball this winter, his defense — his calm ability to guard people like the Timberwolves’ talpregame
ented collection of wing players — is why Stevens has confidence calling on him in a tight spot.
Walker, who may also miss today’s game against the Lakers, has talked with the Celtics training staff about resting his knee at some point to get well for the playoffs. Langford is a logical plug-in in those situations.
“It was real beneficial,” Langford said of these recent productive stretches. “It seems like coach is starting to build more trust in me early in my career. I have to play defense and be in the right spot at the right time. It’s good to get those types of games because it builds confidence.”
Not many rookies can adapt that quickly on defense.
“I think I adapted well. It’s just all about knowing guys’ tendencies and knowing teams’ tendencies, and go out there and execute,” he said. “Everybody seems to run the same type of concepts — what to do in certain situations. I always felt I could play defense, I always felt like a good defender. I just have to put the work in.”
Stevens points to Langford’s work with Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics assistant who began last summer by strapping a ping pong paddle to the rookie’s left hand to improve the release on his jump shot.
They now go over opponents video daily.
“His defense is really good. I give a lot of credit to Romeo, I give a lot of credit to Joe Mazzulla,” said Stevens. “They spend every going through defensive technique work and everything the other team is going to do, every day. That just adds up. So, like, when they isolate him late (in games), I feel really good about Romeo being isolated. He’s got great length, he’s got great agility. And now I think he has a better understanding because of the hard work that those two have put in.”
Langford’s advance work on Fournier, for instance, was on the mark.
“I already had some background on him because we played him in preseason,” said Langford. “Knew what to expect. When (Stevens) told me I was going to be on him, just a matter of going to the film and locking in on his tendencies. Then went out before the game and walked through the plays — what he’s doing in actions and things like that.”
And if he gets beat on an action or two, Langford doesn’t allow the moment to disrupt his concentration, or his calm. There are great benefits to having a lowkeyed personality.
“That’s how I feel I am in general, with life, that’s how I’ve always been. Growing up playing basketball, I’ve never liked letting things get me too high or too low,” he said. “I just try to stay the same course no matter what is going on. That helps in games a lot because you don’t get too overwhelmed. Don’t go out there playing out of your shoes, doing stuff out of the ordinary. That helps, just the way I play the game.”
And if the opponent, or anyone else, dares to underestimate Langford because of his countenance, that’s on them. And there are indeed those who underestimate him in that way.
“I feel like they do,” he said. “I feel sometimes it comes up as if I’m not fully into it, like paying attention or something like that, but really I am.
“It’s just basketball now to me. It’s always been basketball, but it’s a confidence-like thing. Just being able to be out there, play for a while and being comfortable and confident, then everything plays out itself, because I’ve been doing it for a long time. This is new to me. I haven’t played that many games this season, but when I get the chance I just have to play with confidence.”