Reserve big man for the Celtics shines in his first rotational opportunity.
Boston — Xavier Tillman said he was surprised by the length of the run he had in the Celtics’ lopsided victory over the Mavericks on Friday. However, the new big man for the C’s checked in to play some double big action alongside Al Horford at the beginning of the second quarter.
Luke Kornet usually occupies that position in the rotation. However, Tillman received his first minutes on Friday as part of the rotation by decision made by C’s coach Joe Mazzulla. Even though his stats aren’t very noteworthy, Tillman played consistently well and gave the Celtics a possible sneak peek at what he can become in the future. Tillman barely got his feet wet on Friday, but he passed with flying colors.
It’s going well,” Tillman remarked. “I’m getting to sit back and learn from guys like Al, Payton (Pritchard), and Oshae (Brissett), which is just helping me get used to the way we like to do things around here, how the culture is, when we’re bringing the energy, and when people are just chill.”
Tillman won’t have to start making a difference right away for the Celtics because they have a top-6 rotation for that. However, Tillman was brought in by the front office because they wanted to strengthen certain areas of the team before the trade deadline. Tillman’s ability to switch to defense was evident during his minutes alongside Horford, according to Mazzulla.
In his final 15 minutes of action on Friday, Tillman finished with six points, two rebounds, and a block on 3-of-3 shooting. The front staff tread carefully when it came to adding Tillman, a player who may be a valuable addition, without forcing him into the starting lineup every night.
The Celtics are now hoping that Tillman’s most productive minutes will occur during the postseason. But in order to accomplish that, he will need to play for a few more minutes in order to keep adding to his new team’s roster. Overall, the Michigan State product seems like a perfect match in Boston, thus the early returns have impressed.
Mazzulla stated, “He’s a guy who 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.
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