Sometimes, when Romeo Langford lets the flow of the game come to him, things get misconstrued, according to his summer league coach.
“I think he’s a very good player who plays the right way. There are times when he’s passive maybe, but regardless of whether it’s summer league or a league game he’s going to be in the right spot and make the right read,” said Joe Mazzulla. “He’s going to be a physical defender on and off the ball and it’s something he has to continue to work on.
“I think sometimes people mistake Romeo’s passivity for just playing the right way. The one thing he does a great job of is he is always physical defensively,” he said. “He waits for the right play to come to him and he does a good job of being patient. I thought they were a little physical with him on the dribble hand-offs and I thought he matched that physicality in the second half. He plays the right way. As much as people want guys who play the right way, I think he gets a negative connotation for doing it all the time. When people around him they play better. He was more physical in the second half.”
Indeed, Langford made his biggest dent Saturday night in the second half of a 100-80 win over Philadelphia, when the Celtics wing put together the bulk of his 13-point, 5-for-12 performance.
In what is his first healthy summer since the Celtics drafted him two years ago, Langford believes he can now play with a little freedom.
“I feel good with where I’m at,” he said. “I’ve been battling injuries my whole career so far and this is the first time I feel like I’m actually just playing and kind of getting back to how I was before I got into the NBA. I mean, it’s still going to take a little bit more time and I feel like this right here, these couple of games I’ve played have actually helped a lot. It’s going to help me excel and lead over into training camp and then I’ll play my role, whatever my role is during the season. I just feel like it helped me out, being there. I’m happy about it.”
Summer stars
The Celtics, now 4-0 in summer league play after Saturday’s win, are almost assured of a place in Monday’s championship game
They’re the first team in the field to win four games, also lead the field with a plus-21 scoring differential, and have generally been an offensive force. Even without the absent Payton Pritchard (personal business) Saturday night, the Celtics spread the ball around with 22 assists, and remain in the Vegas lead in that category with 25.5 per game.
But the real story for Mazzulla has been what his team is doing on the defensive end — Saturday with 12 blocks and eight steals.
“I think our offense is getting a lot of attention but it’s really our defense,” said Mazzulla. “We do a great job protecting the paint and protecting each other. It’s a paint-first mentality with active hands. And every game our 2-point defense percentage has gone down — today it was 41.5 percent, game one it was 74 percent. So we’re just doing a tremendous job of protecting the paint and protecting each other.”
Madar off the radar
Yam Madar missed the game with a strained hamstring, and it’s unclear if the rookie point guard will play again for the Celtics in Las Vegas this weekend.
“I’m not sure, it’s a day-to-day thing,” said Mazzulla. “He shot around today and was a little sore. I just listen to the training staff on that. They said they’ll give me an answer (Sunday).”
Edwards steps up
Carsen Edwards stepped into the Pritchard void with a strong night — 16 points, seven assists, five rebounds, two blocks, two assists.
“I’m so proud of him — really all those guys,” said Mazzulla. “For Carsen, I think he’s trying to find an identity as to what he is — a point guard or a shooting guard — and sometimes he struggles with that.
“I talked to Carsen, Romeo and Aaron (Nesmith), and once Payton left it was an opportunity for those guys to play a position they weren’t used to. They’re used to being secondary, not primary, ball-handlers, and Carsen made the right play every time. I told him after the game how proud I was of him doing that. He knew when to shoot it and when to get his teammates involved, and he made the right reads. It was awesome to watch and I’m real happy for him.”
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Celtics Notebook: Romeo Langford finds his flow - Boston Herald
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