Romeo Langford has a long way to go before he makes a name for himself as an NBA player, but here’s a useful starting point for the Celtics youngster’s efforts.
Boston assistant coach Joe Mazzulla named conditioning and confidence as the most important aspects of the guard’s impending return to action Tuesday in an interview with The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. Having fully recovered from offseason wrist surgery and a recent spell in COVID-19 protocol, Langford is expected to make his 2020-21 season debut Wednesday when the Celtics in the Celtics host the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden. Langford won’t play long stints initially, giving the 21-year-old some time to boost those two “C’s” Mazulla referenced.
“I think the biggest things will be his conditioning and confidence,” Mazzulla said. “Any time you’re coming back from a long-term injury like his wrist, and any time things haven’t gone the way that you want them to, I think the first thing that goes is your confidence. He needs to trust that he’s where he needs to be to help us.”
The Celtics selected Langford with the 14th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, but he has appeared in just 32 games and averaged 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game.
Mazzulla believes once Langford regains his confidence, fans soon will see another important aspect of his game, one he has shown behind the scenes.
“The thing with him has always been his shot,” Mazzulla said. “And I think there are two types of shooters: guys that are really good making shots in practice settings and guys that are able to translate it to the game. I don’t know if it’ll translate or how long it’ll take, but I do know he’s a better shooter than even he thinks he is and what he has shown to this point. It’s a matter of having the confidence and mind-set to translate it to the game.”
Langford’s season debut will represent a restart to his NBA career, and the sooner he restores his confidence and conditioning, the better off the Celtics will be having another serviceable player in their rotation.
