Welcome Romeo Langford to the Celtics

[Ilikesports17]

Here's another question I have: Why is almost every Ainge pick, regardless of position, undersized? We almost never get a taller-than-normal guard or forward.

Langford is primarily a 2 and has good size for that position.

Brown and Tatum had great size. Williams III has great size. James Young, RJ Hunter and Marcus Smart all did as well. Fab Melo Jajuan Johnson, RJ Giddens and if you want to go way back Al Jefferson, Tony Allen and a few others had prototypical size.

[keevsnick]

To me Romeo is a fine pick, I really liked Little and Doumbouya but I think you could argue Romeo has a higher upside then either of them. Doumbouya would have fiit our team better as a stretch 4, and I feel like he's gonna be at least a high level role player but Romeo has a lot more potential as a scorer. Really the only think I don't like about him is his redundancy, but you can never have enough 6'6-6'8 athletes with good wingspans. Maybe we mve on from Hayward, but even if we don't he's only got two years left on his contract. Also insurance in case Jaylen gets stupid paid next summer.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Here's another question I have: Why is almost every Ainge pick, regardless of position, undersized? We almost never get a taller-than-normal guard or forward.

because those taller guys get picked top 10

Not all of them.

[keevsnick]

Here's another question I have: Why is almost every Ainge pick, regardless of position, undersized? We almost never get a taller-than-normal guard or forward.

Langford is primarily a 2 and has good size for that position.

Brown and Tatum had great size. Williams III has great size. James Young, RJ Hunter and Marcus Smart all did as well. Fab Melo Jajuan Johnson, RJ Giddens and if you want to go way back Al Jefferson, Tony Allen and a few others had prototypical size.

I mean the only guy size wise I remember not liking was Olynyk (short arms). Bradley was short for a SG but he had decent wingspan and athleticism. Smart is big for a PG with again, a large wingspan (6'10ish). PJ Williams is undersized for sure at only 6"8(in shoes) and 6'10 wingspan but he also appears to be decently skilled (good passing, ability to defend perimeter over 80% ft percentage (means he can probably shoot).

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Here's another question I have: Why is almost every Ainge pick, regardless of position, undersized? We almost never get a taller-than-normal guard or forward.

Langford is primarily a 2 and has good size for that position.

Brown and Tatum had great size. Williams III has great size. James Young, RJ Hunter and Marcus Smart all did as well. Fab Melo Jajuan Johnson, RJ Giddens and if you want to go way back Al Jefferson, Tony Allen and a few others had prototypical size.

I guess I was just going by the reports calling him a "wing," and I think of taller players when I think of "wing."

[keevsnick]

Here's another question I have: Why is almost every Ainge pick, regardless of position, undersized? We almost never get a taller-than-normal guard or forward.

Langford is primarily a 2 and has good size for that position.

Brown and Tatum had great size. Williams III has great size. James Young, RJ Hunter and Marcus Smart all did as well. Fab Melo Jajuan Johnson, RJ Giddens and if you want to go way back Al Jefferson, Tony Allen and a few others had prototypical size.

I guess I was just going by the reports calling him a "wing," and I think of taller players when I think of "wing."

I think the problem is you initial complaint, that the Celtics draft undersized guys, is just not factually accurate. They seem to, if nothing else, prioritize guys with plus length (brown, Smart, Tatum, Langford,  Williams, Bradley to name a few).

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Here's another question I have: Why is almost every Ainge pick, regardless of position, undersized? We almost never get a taller-than-normal guard or forward.

Langford is primarily a 2 and has good size for that position.

Brown and Tatum had great size. Williams III has great size. James Young, RJ Hunter and Marcus Smart all did as well. Fab Melo Jajuan Johnson, RJ Giddens and if you want to go way back Al Jefferson, Tony Allen and a few others had prototypical size.

I guess I was just going by the reports calling him a "wing," and I think of taller players when I think of "wing."

I think the problem is you initial complaint, that the Celtics draft undersized guys, is just not factually accurate. They seem to, if nothing else, prioritize guys with plus length (brown, Smart, Tatum, Langford,  Williams, Bradley to name a few).

I guess I distinguish between height and length. Having good wingspan is a plus, but sometimes the Cs just end up being outdone on the boards because they don't have enough height up front.

[Who]

After reading some more about Romeo Langford, I am more optimistic about him this morning than I was last night when he was drafted.

Some of the previous things I had read pointed to a Nick Young - James Young type wing. A scorer who did little else. Not a team player.

However, the fact that Langford has a strong handle and got a lot of his offense out of the PnR is a huge separation factor in my eyes for those types of players. The league is all about PnR and 3 point shooting. Langford used the PnR a lot in college and was very efficient in doing that. I am impressed with his ball-handling in the open court too. Very good at getting to the basket.

Add to that his physical strength as a SG, willingness to create and absorb contact. He is very good at using his body in the PnR. He is good at finishing through contact around the basket and in transition. And he is excellent at getting to the foul line.

The defense is an issue but I like our chances at fixing that as we get back to the defensive mentality that Stevens is known for next year. Due to the defensive issues, I don't expect Langford to break out until his 2nd year. More of a 15-20mpg player as a rookie with some growing pains.

Overall though, I like the pick. Long term potential is very good for a mid first round pick. He has a lot of things (ball-handling, PnR, transition play, driving ability, ability to get FTs, physical strength for guard and good overall athleticism) that should translate well to the NBA.

[Erik]

You cannot be the ball handler in a pick and roll in the nba if you cannot shoot 3s. The defense will just go under the pick and the play is dead.

Please stop posting misinformation. Visualize the pick and roll. If the picked player can just wait for you on the other side, you’ve accomplished nothing.

[PAOBoston]

You cannot be the ball handler in a pick and roll in the nba if you cannot shoot 3s. The defense will just go under the pick and the play is dead.

Please stop posting misinformation. Visualize the pick and roll. If the picked player can just wait for you on the other side, you’ve accomplished nothing.

I guess that settles that. Confirmed: Langford a bust after playing zero minutes for the Cs.

[Who]

You cannot be the ball handler in a pick and roll in the nba if you cannot shoot 3s. The defense will just go under the pick and the play is dead.

Please stop posting misinformation. Visualize the pick and roll. If the picked player can just wait for you on the other side, you’ve accomplished nothing.

Langford is not Ben Simmons. Langford can shoot it enough that they cannot ignore him completely.

[bellerephon]

The 14th pick in a weak draft probably isn't going to net any team a future star, so it's a question of which future role player you like best. I have no problem with the fact that Danny had a different take on these guys than the media did. I'm not saying he will end up being right, we all know the draft is a crap shoot, but there's no reason to assume that he is wrong either.

[Erik]

You cannot be the ball handler in a pick and roll in the nba if you cannot shoot 3s. The defense will just go under the pick and the play is dead.

Please stop posting misinformation. Visualize the pick and roll. If the picked player can just wait for you on the other side, you’ve accomplished nothing.

I guess that settles that. Confirmed: Langford a bust after playing zero minutes for the Cs.

No, just confirmed that he will not be our point guard running a pick and roll offense.

[Who]

You cannot be the ball handler in a pick and roll in the nba if you cannot shoot 3s. The defense will just go under the pick and the play is dead.

Please stop posting misinformation. Visualize the pick and roll. If the picked player can just wait for you on the other side, you’ve accomplished nothing.

I guess that settles that. Confirmed: Langford a bust after playing zero minutes for the Cs.

No, just confirmed that he will not be our point guard running a pick and roll offense.

Why would Langford be a PG?

Langford is a SG. A score first player who doesn't pass much.

He already runs the PnR better than Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum. That is something Boston needs. More secondary ball-handling and PnR action from the wings. That is part of the reason why teams had success trapping Kyrie and forcing the ball out of his hands.

[Who]

In the PnR, even if your opponent goes under the screen and you do not get separation, you still have options.

(1) use the pick again. Tony Parker was a master of this. Teams didn't respect his jumper. Instead of taking what was low to medium efficiency shot for him. TP used the pick multiple times getting closer to the basket each time trying to set up his drive or to get a closer shot (18 footer instead of 23 footer) that he could make more of.

(2) Fake the pick, drive the other way. Harden is brilliant at this. You never know which way he is going off of a pick. Harden can shoot the 3 too which causes even more problems for his defender.


(3) Or if the team just switches the pick instead. Langford has had a lot of success in isolations. So him forcing a switch and getting a slower big man on him is a valuable action for Celtics too.


It is not like team's are going to be loading up on Langford either. He will be the 3rd, 4th, 5th option on offense when he is on the floor at the start of his NBA career. A lot of his PnRs will come out of situations where other offensive actions have already happened that opposing teams will be responding to.