BOSTON — With Xavier Tillman officially part of the Celtics, once the initial celebration is over, it’ll be all about incorporating him with the rest of the roster. That’ll be a process as the C’s employ a sophisticated defense that relies heavily on the big man to make quick decisions. The C’s traded Lamar Stevens and two second-round picks to land Tillman, who immediately becomes a bench option.
There’s a lot to like about Tillman as he lands with a Boston squad in the middle of a contending season. The big man’s defensive prowess should give the team a boost off the bench and is his best trait. His offense is a question mark, but the team won’t be asking much from him on that end of the court.
Regardless, the integration period will begin once Tillman gets to Boston. The big man is currently dealing with a knee injury that’s forced him to miss the past four games. So at this point, it’s unclear when he’ll be ready to play for the Celtics. Considering the C’s have four games ahead of the All-Star break, the team could also be cautious with him while still going through the install process.
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It’ll take a minute for Tillman to get his feet wet with the team, but he should be a solid option for the rest of the regular season and beyond. He’ll compete for minutes with Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta, and now, the Celtics’ big man depth is a strength. Tillman was also acquired for insurance should anything happen injury-wise, and for a reserve, he’s proven he can be a playoff contributor.
Here’s everything the Celtics said about Tillman, his fit and what he can expect:
Joe Mazzulla
“Skilled, toughness, well-coached. Obviously we paid a lot of attention to him just because of the team that he played for, and the coach that he has. And I think his defensive versatility, he has really good numbers against some of the top centers in the league, and his pick-and-roll defense and rim protection is pretty good. So I think just giving us versatility at that position.”
“It’s important for our bigs to be versatile. They have to be able to, and I think that’s where KP has grown kind of in our system, and I think where Al and Luke are the foundation tools to our defense is they have the ability to change matchups every possession, they have the ability to guard different guys, they can navigate off-ball communications, they can switch, and they can change their depth in pick-and-rolls. So it’s one of the more important positions in our defense is our bigs and their ability to be versatile. He’s shown that. We just need to continue to coach him on it, and get him up to speed in our system. So I’m looking forward to it.”
Kristaps Porzingis
“I think he’s going to have his processor working. It’s going to be working. It’s a lot of adjustments on the go. Joe likes to just, boom, we have to be ready to respond. Whatever the coverage is, whatever the change is, whatever the matchup is in that moment you have to be ready for it. I think he will pick it up and understand it will be on the go. That’s a little bit different here and it challenges you as a player to respond quickly to whatever Joe sees. I think it might take him a little bit of time, but once he finds that ability to switch his mindset on different things, he’ll be fine.”
“His ability to defend all kinds of multiple positions. He has some tools offensively too that can help us, but I think his body and his build. He’s a really strong defender and he can guard multiple guys, which is going to be a huge advantage for us.”
Al Horford
“It’s definitely a benefit. We’re looking forward to having him here. He’s a guy that has played on good teams and understands how to play. And yeah, I look forward to playing with him and seeing how he can help us down the stretch.”
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