MINNEAPOLIS -- Within seconds of stepping on to the floor in the first quarter Friday night against Minnesota, the Celtics' Romeo Langford knew he was going to be tested.
“Put him in action,” Langford heard one of the Timberwolves players tell a teammate when he saw Langford was the primary defender.
That’s basketball lingo for, “go at that dude!”
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The Celtics rookie has seen limited playing time this season, so he’s more than accustomed to being challenged shortly after checking into a game.
“They can try me; a lot of people try me,” Langford told NBC Sports Boston following the 127-117 win over the Timberwolves. “It’s just funny to me. Because I know what I can do defensively.”
And fortunately for the Celtics, so does coach Brad Stevens, who has shown no hesitation in putting Langford into the game sooner rather than later.
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“When [teams] isolate him late, I feel really good about Romeo being isolated,” said Stevens. “He’s got great length, great agility.”
And tremendous confidence, courtesy of the time spent preparing for opponents with Celtics assistant Joe Mazzulla.
That confidence was on display Friday night, with Langford showing the ability to consistently contest shots, which led a strong night defensively.
Langford defended 10 Minnesota players who combined to shoot just 1-for-7 against him, with the lone made basket coming in transition in the first quarter by Malik Beasley, who had a team-high 27 points.
And when Jaylen Brown fouled out in the fourth quarter, Stevens didn’t hesitate to turn to Langford to close out the game.
"It's great experience coming in like that," Brown told NBC Sports Boston. "I don't ever want to foul out, obviously. But it's good that we can turn to Romeo and he can hold it down for us when he gets his chance."
A series of injuries kept Langford out for large chunks of the season making it more challenging for Stevens to know what he could expect when Langford did play.
Still, through stints with the Maine Red Claws and limited time with the Celtics, Stevens has seen the progress made by Langford particularly when it comes to defense.
“He’s starting to trust me now,” Langford said of Stevens. “Especially early in the game and towards the end of the game. It shows like, I’m doing something right. I need to keep it up now.”
To see Langford being praised for his defense is a far cry from where he was at the start of the season when all the talk about the lottery pick was centered around his ability to score.
When it comes to defense, Langford said his approach is pretty simple.
“Just embraced it,” Langford said. “Brad says and everyone on the team says, 'the way you play on this team at a young age, is by defense.' So, I like to play and I want to play so I focus on defense so I can get some run in.”
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