Romeo Langford Thread

[Asher77]

He has a very smooth and coordinated ability to break down defenses and penetrate into the interior. This is a trait great passers share as as it allows a better ability to survey the defense and spot passing angles.
Too many players drive to the hoop these days by putting there head down and using speed / power. That's fine but not uncommon and much harder to be a great passer.

[Slartibartfast]

Good handles, smooth with the ball in his hands, great ability of getting to the basket, strong finisher, solid vision and a good passer capable of finding the open man, an above average athlete with good speed and long arms....

Hey, that reminds me of someone !!!

Spoiler:

He kinda looks like him too.

But Langford's got some important differences, the biggest being his length and touch. ET actually had unexceptional length - Romeo's got a significant 3 inch advantage there. He's also got excellent touch and the ability to finish through contact.

That makes him much more potent as a finisher.

Doesn't have ET's vision though.

[threrf23]

I'm sure we've probably been scouting him for awhile?

Anyways, when I read about him before this season, I thought he sounded like Khris Middleton. Of course, Khris Middleton took a slight bit of time to break out, and has generally been a slight bit inconsistent if not less than dependable.

People keep talking about his low 3 point percentage, which may or may not have been affected by his thumb. Statistically, I'm more concerned by his rebounding, as rebounding tends to be a good indicator of a player's ceiling (or something to the effect). His 6.3 rebounds per 40 (5.9 in conference play) in midway in between Khris Middleton (7.0 as a frosh) and James Young (5.3 as a frosh on a good rebounding team) and is slightly lower than almost all optimistic comps - for reference, here's a list of comps I put in a Jaylen Brown thread three seasons ago (rebounds per 40) -

18 y/o Paul Pierce: 8.4
19 y/o Paul Pierce: 9.6
18 y/o Carmelo: 11
19 y/o Jimmy Butler: 8
21 y/o Jimmy Butler: 7
18 y/o Demarre Carroll: 9.7
19 y/o Demarre Carroll: 8.8
18 y/o Kawhi: 12.6
19 y/o Kawhi: 13
18 y/o K Middleton: 7
19 y/o K Middleton: 7
18 y/o Winslow: 8.9
18 y/o Stanley J: 9.1
18 y/o James Young: 5.3
19 y/o Le'Bryan Nash: 6.7
19 y/o Anthony Bennett: 12
18 y/o Wiggins: 7.1
20 y/o Crowder: 9.8
21 y/o Crowder: 10.2
18 y/o Jeff Green: 7.8
19 y/o Jeff Green: 8.1
18 y/o H. Barnes: 7.9
19 y/o H. Barnes: 7.1

plus...

Tatum - 8.8
Jaylen - 7.8
Paul George - 7.2 (8.8 as a soph)
Nassir Little - 10.1

Kid's got real upside but I'm slightly nervous since he shares some of the same weaknesses that James Young had. Per scouting his dribble is decent but right hand dominant (I think Young's dribble was left hand dominant?), and he struggles as a primary playmaker. The wrap on him is that his effort and intensity is inconsistent - and I watched an interview where he explained that he used to play football and liked playing football but quit because he didn't like to have to practice. He seems to be a better finisher if not a more natural scorer/playmaker than Young.

[Asher77]

I agree that rebounding does translate but allot of questions we have are tainted by the thumb. We talk about the shooting but it effects the overall game. Rebounding in traffic is not easy on the fingers. He had some good games with double digit boards and when you watch the highlights he always seems to be at the best with the game close. I bet he throttled his aggression this season a bit to play through the injury.

[sully00]

This guy would've been there at 20. What a freakin reach....

Tough to play that game with this draft. I felt the same way at the time but the guys I would have taken at 14 all were their at 20 except for the French kid. If he was one of a handful of guys they should have gone Doumbouya but it he was their guy then I understand taking him at 14.

[ermocrate]

For what I understand this guy puts us in a great spot, allows us to trade Brown without any remorse...

meh, i take brown over this guy 8 days a week and twice on the other days.

let's see if he can break 30% in 3pt shooting before anointing him our SG of the future.

We already have the starters at 2 and 3

[Gomes3PC]

His ability to get to the rim is lightyears better than Young. Also, many of those comps seem to be wings vs true guards. Langford's future is firmly a 2G.

[threrf23]

I agree that rebounding does translate but allot of questions we have are tainted by the thumb. We talk about the shooting but it effects the overall game. Rebounding in traffic is not easy on the fingers. He had some good games with double digit boards and when you watch the highlights he always seems to be at the best with the game close. I bet he throttled his aggression this season a bit to play through the injury.

Yeah that's possible, but he was only averaging 7.2 rebounds per 40 and shooting 17% from 3 against a non-conference slate in six games before his alleged thumb injury.

[Darth Celtic]

I think he's much more an athlete than ET. Those arms go on forever. Sneaks up on guys.

[Asher77]

Was it game 6 he got injured? He did have a game of 10 and of 8 before that. He is a SG and ya the 3p% was still down on that small sample but he was a incoming freshman, we have high expectations. Check out the 2p% in those games, that was ridiculous.

[threrf23]

Was it game 6 he got injured? He did have a game of 10 and of 8 before that. He is a SG and ya the 3p% was still down on that small sample but he was a incoming freshman, we have high expectations. Check out the 2p% in those games, that was ridiculous.

I read that he suffered his thumb injury game 7 vs Duke.

[Half-Full]

I watched a scouting video on Langford which raised some concerns about Langford's play without the ball. He seemed to stand around way too much. They pointed out that he often did not seem to be expecting the ball, and when he got it wasn't really prepared. He was not an active cutter, and had a "subdued nature" off the ball. He "doesn't use screens with any purpose, and walks around way too often on the floor." It seems as though he is not fully engaged/involved when he doesn't have the ball in his hands, and that's not a good sign. Still, he has been well scouted, and I'm sure the Celtics are fully aware of whatever warts he has. Every player has them. In his post draft interview, Brad did mention that Langford had been well coached in high school and in college, but I'm wondering.

[LuckyLeprechaun]

Okay I'm sold

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Thanks, that was cool. I admit I didn’t know much about him before the weeks before draft and had no idea he was a top 6 recruit. Barrett and Reddish maybe only more talented wings in draft. Cullver, Rui and Hunter are all sophomores. As a UVA fan, I don’t see how Hunter is a better prospect and I love Hunter. Hunter can defend and although he did shoot 3 well in college he truly is a reluctant shooter and has none of the tools Langford has creating shots or attacking rim. I think Celtic culture will turn him into the defender he has the talent to become. I am much more excited about this pick.

Here is 2018 recruiting class rankings when they were in HS:

https://247sports.com/Season/2018-Basketball/RecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=HighSchool

Somehow, Zion was 7th. Langford was 5.

Hopefully NBA scouts would do much better, but this is actually what worries me about letting high school kids back into the draft. Bol Bol and Little would had probably been top 5-7 picks out of high school. Crazy. I mean it would had been great for them, but not sure how great that is for actual NBA organizations.

We will see.

Eh it goes both ways. Markelle Fultz wouldn't have sniffed #1 out of high school but he put up good stats on a bad team in college.

If anything, high schoolers in the draft is great for teams like the Cs that aren't likely to pick high often. More chance of finding a diamond in the rough.

And Danny did really well drafting high schoolers too. Perk and Jefferson both way exceeded their draft status and Gerald Green ended up having a solid career.

[Slartibartfast]

Thanks, that was cool. I admit I didn’t know much about him before the weeks before draft and had no idea he was a top 6 recruit. Barrett and Reddish maybe only more talented wings in draft. Cullver, Rui and Hunter are all sophomores. As a UVA fan, I don’t see how Hunter is a better prospect and I love Hunter. Hunter can defend and although he did shoot 3 well in college he truly is a reluctant shooter and has none of the tools Langford has creating shots or attacking rim. I think Celtic culture will turn him into the defender he has the talent to become. I am much more excited about this pick.

Here is 2018 recruiting class rankings when they were in HS:

https://247sports.com/Season/2018-Basketball/RecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=HighSchool

Somehow, Zion was 7th. Langford was 5.

Hopefully NBA scouts would do much better, but this is actually what worries me about letting high school kids back into the draft. Bol Bol and Little would had probably been top 5-7 picks out of high school. Crazy. I mean it would had been great for them, but not sure how great that is for actual NBA organizations.

We will see.

Eh it goes both ways. Markelle Fultz wouldn't have sniffed #1 out of high school but he put up good stats on a bad team in college.

If anything, high schoolers in the draft is great for teams like the Cs that aren't likely to pick high often. More chance of finding a diamond in the rough.

And Danny did really well drafting high schoolers too. Perk and Jefferson both way exceeded their draft status and Gerald Green ended up having a solid career.

Sidenote but Fultz' problems weren't from getting overrated at Washington - his shot disappeared in the most bizarre physical/mental implosion I've ever witnessed.

[Asher77]

I watched a scouting video on Langford which raised some concerns about Langford's play without the ball. He seemed to stand around way too much. They pointed out that he often did not seem to be expecting the ball, and when he got it wasn't really prepared. He was not an active cutter, and had a "subdued nature" off the ball. He "doesn't use screens with any purpose, and walks around way too often on the floor." It seems as though he is not fully engaged/involved when he doesn't have the ball in his hands, and that's not a good sign. Still, he has been well scouted, and I'm sure the Celtics are fully aware of whatever warts he has. Every player has them. In his post draft interview, Brad did mention that Langford had been well coached in high school and in college, but I'm wondering.

I agree about his off ball movement and I see this as a sad product of today's development cycle. He was a top recruit and was fully on the parade circle ( outplayed zion in game highlights I watched and many thought him the better player ). These top guys can score at will and in these camps it is all about whose turn is it next. The only passing that seems to happen is on the break and half court sets are a thing of the past.
The kid has the potential and that's what it is all about. Now at this level we get to see if he takes to the coaching to get himself on the court or will be drift off to spend his $. I think the kid has a chip on his shoulder to prove he is one of the best, he was pissed yesterday he fell to 14. He might be a James Harden and iso away but I think he will find his accolades somehow on the court.

[cloverleaf]

I'm sure we've probably been scouting him for awhile?

Anyways, when I read about him before this season, I thought he sounded like Khris Middleton. Of course, Khris Middleton took a slight bit of time to break out, and has generally been a slight bit inconsistent if not less than dependable.

People keep talking about his low 3 point percentage, which may or may not have been affected by his thumb. Statistically, I'm more concerned by his rebounding, as rebounding tends to be a good indicator of a player's ceiling (or something to the effect). His 6.3 rebounds per 40 (5.9 in conference play) in midway in between Khris Middleton (7.0 as a frosh) and James Young (5.3 as a frosh on a good rebounding team) and is slightly lower than almost all optimistic comps - for reference, here's a list of comps I put in a Jaylen Brown thread three seasons ago (rebounds per 40) -

18 y/o Paul Pierce: 8.4
19 y/o Paul Pierce: 9.6
18 y/o Carmelo: 11
19 y/o Jimmy Butler: 8
21 y/o Jimmy Butler: 7
18 y/o Demarre Carroll: 9.7
19 y/o Demarre Carroll: 8.8
18 y/o Kawhi: 12.6
19 y/o Kawhi: 13
18 y/o K Middleton: 7
19 y/o K Middleton: 7
18 y/o Winslow: 8.9
18 y/o Stanley J: 9.1
18 y/o James Young: 5.3
19 y/o Le'Bryan Nash: 6.7
19 y/o Anthony Bennett: 12
18 y/o Wiggins: 7.1
20 y/o Crowder: 9.8
21 y/o Crowder: 10.2
18 y/o Jeff Green: 7.8
19 y/o Jeff Green: 8.1
18 y/o H. Barnes: 7.9
19 y/o H. Barnes: 7.1

plus...

Tatum - 8.8
Jaylen - 7.8
Paul George - 7.2 (8.8 as a soph)
Nassir Little - 10.1

Kid's got real upside but I'm slightly nervous since he shares some of the same weaknesses that James Young had. Per scouting his dribble is decent but right hand dominant (I think Young's dribble was left hand dominant?), and he struggles as a primary playmaker. The wrap on him is that his effort and intensity is inconsistent - and I watched an interview where he explained that he used to play football and liked playing football but quit because he didn't like to have to practice. He seems to be a better finisher if not a more natural scorer/playmaker than Young.

For me the questions are 1) was it the thumb injury or is that wacky form of his the greater problem with his shooting and, especially given the limited shooting last year, why was he so lackadaisical without the ball, etc.? Young I think often didn't know what to do, this cat knows the game well enough to know what he should have been doing--if only he'd felt like it.

My other worry is the lack of speed or bounce, combined with the shortness, on Grant Williams. Is he supposed to be something of a shorter, but not fat, Sully?

And I love this one. I mean really, where is there more opportunity for a center right now?

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I like the latter two little waterbug picks.

[MaxwellSmart]

just can't wait for all the Romeo Tommy remarks.

[keevsnick1]

I'm not that worried about minutes for him. Given that our only three real PF types are Williams (late first pick, Semi (2nd rd) and Yabu( hasn't shown much) we are going to NEED the wings to play a fair amount of 4, and with Kyrie gone I'd expect a lot of PG Smart. In some ways Langford will be replacing Smarts wing minutes while smart takes Kyries PG minutes. There gonna be, let's say 120 minutes (48sg, 48sf, 24pf) for Tatum, Brown, Hayward, Langford. That's fine. Whoever earns it from the PFs will fill in the other 24.

As for his scouring report, it seems like he a great finisher who can create his own shot, generate FTs, and has some potential as a passer. He seems to have better vision at this stage than Brown or Tatum at that age and some potential in the pick and roll. Decent athlete (quick, smooth more than vertucal). I dont think it's possible to have too many if those guys. It's also a hedge is Jaylen gets overpaid, or Hayward traded.

He has some flaws like shot selection, drifting off ball, defensive intensity, but those are flaws that I think can be ironed out in a proffesional environment. I think he will get a chance, there are minutes to be filled with 3 perimeter scorers likely leaving (Irving, Rozier, Morris).

[ZeroTolerance]

I watched a scouting video on Langford which raised some concerns about Langford's play without the ball. He seemed to stand around way too much. They pointed out that he often did not seem to be expecting the ball, and when he got it wasn't really prepared. He was not an active cutter, and had a "subdued nature" off the ball. He "doesn't use screens with any purpose, and walks around way too often on the floor." It seems as though he is not fully engaged/involved when he doesn't have the ball in his hands, and that's not a good sign. Still, he has been well scouted, and I'm sure the Celtics are fully aware of whatever warts he has. Every player has them. In his post draft interview, Brad did mention that Langford had been well coached in high school and in college, but I'm wondering.

He really seems so young....and is I suppose...When Abby interviewed him, he seemed pretty nervous and a bit scared to answer wrongly... Seems like a nice kid though, a bit scrawny perhaps... but i'm sure they will build him up over the summer?

[Fencer reregistered]

I wish we could have drafted a player named 'Julian' to compliment his name.
*Game

That might lead to problems with the Capulet.

Would you be OK just with somebody named "Rose"?