San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich turned to fourth-year guard Romeo Langford after starting shooting guard Devin Vassell was sidelined with a knee injury.
“Let’s go,” Langford said of his reaction to Thursday’s start in a post-game interview with Bally Sports. So you have to be ready all the time so you don’t have to be ready.”
Thursday’s game against the New York Knicks was Langford’s eighth start in 20 games for the Spurs in the 2022-23 season, and he made the most of his chances. Langford always hit the basket and scored his career-high 23 points in the Spurs’ 122-115 victory over the Knicks at his AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. He went 3-1 and had 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
“[Langford’s] “I did everything from the beginning to not playing a minute in another game,” Popovich said.
After the game, Langford made his first appearance on the Bally Sports Spurs Live post-game show.
“I was just playing basketball,” said Langford. “I was just playing basketball.
Since being selected 14th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2019 NBA Draft, Langford has dealt with injuries that have limited his role, but he’s starting to catch up with the Spurs this season. He played his first two-and-a-half years with the Celtics, but was traded to the Spurs midway through the 2021-22 season.
In addition to Thursday’s career-high, Langford has scored in double figures in five of his last 10 games since Nov. 30. He hit 7-of-7 in his December 10 game against Miami against the Heat and scored his 19 points, his all-time career-high. He went -10 overall, 3 to 1-2, and grabbed 6 rebounds.
In 20 games this season, Langford is averaging 6.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.7 steals in nearly every category. His three-pointers His shooting has dropped from 34.1% last season to 25.0% for him, but Langford’s field his goal-scoring percentage is 43.5% for the 2021-22 season and 35.6 for the 2020-21 season. %, then jumped to 51.4%. He’s also playing more than ever, averaging 19.5 minutes per game.
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For Langford, this recent success and what it takes to sustain this level of play is simply due to being healthy and consistent.
“I feel productive when I’m healthy and able to play a consistent role,” Langford said. It is important to be in
Prior to the NBA, Langford was the fifth-ranked recruit in ESPN’s 2018 class behind RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson, Kam Reddish and Bol Bol. He was named his 2018 Indiana Mr. His Basketball and New He averaged 35.5 points as his senior year at Albany High School and scored 3,002 career points.
Langford chose to stay home and play for the Indiana Hoosiers under coach Archie Miller. In one college season, Langford averaged 16.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists, and he shot 44.8% overall.
As a young player, Langford was known for his offensive prowess, but since reaching the NBA he has taken significant steps to improve as a defender.
“When I was first drafted into Boston, [defense] Langford said. Me and him were consistently working on defense. Sometimes I almost didn’t shoot jump shots. Even when I wasn’t playing, I worked on the defense and executing the game plan that Brad Stevens created for us. ”
This defensive effort will help Langford carve out a role with the Spurs, but Popovich believes more aggressive performances like Thursday’s will come from Langford, who is still 23.
“In my opinion [Langford’s] Popovich said. “He’s been injured over and over again since he’s been in the league, you know. So he’s been pretty healthy for us. ”
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