NBA Finals: Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics: Complete results and highlights
Friday marked the beginning of the largest acquisition to the Celtics since the deal, and he made a significant impact on their 138-110 victory.
In the victory, Xavier Tillman played 15 minutes off the bench, scoring 6 points while making all three of his shots and bringing some vigor to the defense with a block. His influence could also be seen on the scoreboard, where he recorded a plus/minus of plus-13 during the fourth quarter as the Celtics’ lead increased from 12 to 25 points.
Tillman said he “didn’t know” he was going to score his first significant run off the bench as the Celtics’ second big off the bench on Friday against Luke Kornet. Though Tillman believed the minutes “went well,” he acknowledged that his main regret was allowing Jayson Tatum’s pass to pass right through his hands.
Obviously, it remains to be seen just how much of a role Tillman will have going forward. But Friday was a promising start as he played well alongside the Celtics’ other primary backup big, Al Horford. Tillman pointed to Horford as one of the people who’s helped him get acclimated so far in Boston, believing he can continue to pick up things from the veteran.
Playing with Horford, Tillman stated, “will allow me to kind of like, play free,” given his IQ, skill level, experience, and wisdom. Instead of my having to second-guess everything, he can then sort of lead me in the greatest ways to support the team. Just the way we do things, I think Al may be of great assistance to me.
“I’m like, ‘Al, what’s the coach saying?’ when he sketches up a play or presents a defensive system. Al, what are we doing in this situation?
Despite the fact that Horford is the Celtics’ most seasoned player, Tillman could benefit from his mentoring because the two players have comparable skill sets.
Mazzulla told reporters, “He’s a guy that can help our switchability and still have size.” One of the things I appreciate about this squad, then, is that they have an appreciation of the importance of winning and maintain an open mind when making decisions. We therefore believed that continuing to switch them tonight was the proper course of action, and we commend him and the other players for realizing this is what matters most.
But Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics highlighted a few things Tillman did well on Friday in terms of offense that pleased him.
Reporters were told by Brown that “X looked good out there, man.” “It seems like,
