Trade Deadline News (Celtics get Tillman, Jaden Springer)

[Vermont Green]

I dug into Tillman's stats from the last game.  He played a total of 15 minutes, of which about 2 of those minutes were garbage time with scrubs.  Of the 13 minutes of actual rotation play, he had about 11 with Horford (+18) and 2 as the 1 big (-6).

I did not see the whole game but these stats highlight what I liked about his play during the parts I did see.  He was great as the 3rd big with Horford.  If this continues, or even gets better, that gives us a legitimate 3 big rotation.  Kornet can be used as he should be used, as a 3rd string big, and Brissett can fill in as a swing/big as needed.

I still don't feel like I have seen enough of Tillman to be sure what he really is as a player.  He is still a poor FT shooter so that is a vulnerability.  But he showed last night vs. DAL that he can really impact the game just doing all the "blue collar" things.  That kind of frees up Horford to play his game.

I am really encouraged about Tillman now.

[tenn_smoothie]

I'm happy we got Tillman and even Springer, but did we pursue Daniel Theis at all ?
He would be a very good 3d center, can shoot the 3 and only makes $1.7M.
I'm just asking, it could well be the Clippers had no interest in losing him since he's playing 19 minutes and averaging 6.5 pts and 4 rbs per.

[ozgod]

I'm happy we got Tillman and even Springer, but did we pursue Daniel Theis at all ?
He would be a very good 3d center, can shoot the 3 and only makes $1.7M.
I'm just asking, it could well be the Clippers had no interest in losing him since he's playing 19 minutes and averaging 6.5 pts and 4 rbs per.

It’s the latter. Daniel felt his fit was better in LA for the minutes. He didn’t want to be a 3rd center. In LA he’s the 2nd center. Like most buyouts Daniel wanted to play and not sit on the bench to be a cheerleader. As for the Clippers they weren’t going to trade him for someone else making $1.7m knowing they’re getting good value out of him.

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2024/01/27/nba-celtics-clippers-daniel-theis-return-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown/

[Surferdad]

I dug into Tillman's stats from the last game.  He played a total of 15 minutes, of which about 2 of those minutes were garbage time with scrubs.  Of the 13 minutes of actual rotation play, he had about 11 with Horford (+18) and 2 as the 1 big (-6).

I did not see the whole game but these stats highlight what I liked about his play during the parts I did see.  He was great as the 3rd big with Horford.  If this continues, or even gets better, that gives us a legitimate 3 big rotation.  Kornet can be used as he should be used, as a 3rd string big, and Brissett can fill in as a swing/big as needed.

I still don't feel like I have seen enough of Tillman to be sure what he really is as a player.  He is still a poor FT shooter so that is a vulnerability.  But he showed last night vs. DAL that he can really impact the game just doing all the "blue collar" things.  That kind of frees up Horford to play his game.

I am really encouraged about Tillman now.

I am encouraged too. Mazzulla said he likes playing Tillman with Horford, at least until he learns the plays and defense.
I am not going to worry about the FT shooting at this point.

[ozgod]

X is now playing 22mpg the last 2 games, after not playing more than 18mpg prior. Could it be that while we were all slitting wrists about him being wasted on the bench, they were always planning to bring him on slowly and they were expecting to rest a lot more players once they clinched a playoff spot (and possibly top seed soon) and that's where Tillman will get his chance to shine? 

The Celtics brought forward Xavier Tillman along slowly after acquiring him from the Grizzlies last month. It was partly to help him get over some persistent left knee soreness, but partly to help him acclimate to a new team and system before pushing him into action.

Over the last two games, though, Tillman is averaging 22.2 minutes. Prior to this stretch, he had not reached the 18-minute mark since joining the Celtics.

“Just being patient, waiting for him to understand the language, understand the dynamics of it,” Mazzulla said. “Obviously, the staff has done a great job getting on the floor with him, walking him through all of the rules and areas. And just him hearing it in the first few shootarounds and film sessions and getting a clear understanding of what expectations are.”

Mazzulla said the Celtics value Tillman’s versatility and ability to play alongside other bigs. He shared the court with Luke Kornet for a stretch of Tuesday’s win over the Jazz and joined Al Horford in Thursday’s win over the Suns.

“Xavier’s super easy to play with,” Horford said. “On the court he’s making the right read, making the right play. He can defend really well, moves his feet really well, just makes the game easy for me. He takes a lot of pressure off me when I’m out there with him. He just knows how to play, so I’m really excited to be able to play with him and develop that chemistry.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/03/16/sports/celtics-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown/

I'm expecting X to play a prominent role going forward, and into the playoffs. Luke has done everything expected of him, and X offers us something different to what Luke does, so it's another tool in the toolkit.

[Celtics2021]

X is now playing 22mpg the last 2 games, after not playing more than 18mpg prior. Could it be that while we were all slitting wrists about him being wasted on the bench, they were always planning to bring him on slowly and they were expecting to rest a lot more players once they clinched a playoff spot (and possibly top seed soon) and that's where Tillman will get his chance to shine? 

The Celtics brought forward Xavier Tillman along slowly after acquiring him from the Grizzlies last month. It was partly to help him get over some persistent left knee soreness, but partly to help him acclimate to a new team and system before pushing him into action.

Over the last two games, though, Tillman is averaging 22.2 minutes. Prior to this stretch, he had not reached the 18-minute mark since joining the Celtics.

“Just being patient, waiting for him to understand the language, understand the dynamics of it,” Mazzulla said. “Obviously, the staff has done a great job getting on the floor with him, walking him through all of the rules and areas. And just him hearing it in the first few shootarounds and film sessions and getting a clear understanding of what expectations are.”

Mazzulla said the Celtics value Tillman’s versatility and ability to play alongside other bigs. He shared the court with Luke Kornet for a stretch of Tuesday’s win over the Jazz and joined Al Horford in Thursday’s win over the Suns.

“Xavier’s super easy to play with,” Horford said. “On the court he’s making the right read, making the right play. He can defend really well, moves his feet really well, just makes the game easy for me. He takes a lot of pressure off me when I’m out there with him. He just knows how to play, so I’m really excited to be able to play with him and develop that chemistry.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/03/16/sports/celtics-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown/

I'm expecting X to play a prominent role going forward, and into the playoffs. Luke has done everything expected of him, and X offers us something different to what Luke does, so it's another tool in the toolkit.

That’s nice and all, but Porzingis sat both of those games and Horford sat one of them, so I’m not sure you can draw much from that unless you think Porzingis will be out a long time.

[ozgod]

X is now playing 22mpg the last 2 games, after not playing more than 18mpg prior. Could it be that while we were all slitting wrists about him being wasted on the bench, they were always planning to bring him on slowly and they were expecting to rest a lot more players once they clinched a playoff spot (and possibly top seed soon) and that's where Tillman will get his chance to shine? 

The Celtics brought forward Xavier Tillman along slowly after acquiring him from the Grizzlies last month. It was partly to help him get over some persistent left knee soreness, but partly to help him acclimate to a new team and system before pushing him into action.

Over the last two games, though, Tillman is averaging 22.2 minutes. Prior to this stretch, he had not reached the 18-minute mark since joining the Celtics.

“Just being patient, waiting for him to understand the language, understand the dynamics of it,” Mazzulla said. “Obviously, the staff has done a great job getting on the floor with him, walking him through all of the rules and areas. And just him hearing it in the first few shootarounds and film sessions and getting a clear understanding of what expectations are.”

Mazzulla said the Celtics value Tillman’s versatility and ability to play alongside other bigs. He shared the court with Luke Kornet for a stretch of Tuesday’s win over the Jazz and joined Al Horford in Thursday’s win over the Suns.

“Xavier’s super easy to play with,” Horford said. “On the court he’s making the right read, making the right play. He can defend really well, moves his feet really well, just makes the game easy for me. He takes a lot of pressure off me when I’m out there with him. He just knows how to play, so I’m really excited to be able to play with him and develop that chemistry.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/03/16/sports/celtics-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown/

I'm expecting X to play a prominent role going forward, and into the playoffs. Luke has done everything expected of him, and X offers us something different to what Luke does, so it's another tool in the toolkit.

That’s nice and all, but Porzingis sat both of those games and Horford sat one of them, so I’m not sure you can draw much from that unless you think Porzingis will be out a long time.

I'm expecting KP to be sat for a large part of the remainder of the regular season. For playoffs I'm expecting X and Luke to play like a platoon based on matchups. Probably not 20 mins a game but I'm expecting more than 4.

[jambr380]

I'm expecting KP to be sat for a large part of the remainder of the regular season. For playoffs I'm expecting X and Luke to play like a platoon based on matchups. Probably not 20 mins a game but I'm expecting more than 4.

It'll be interesting to see how it works out. As it stands, Tillman is a worse version of Horford and Kornet is a worse version of KP. In the playoffs where we'll likely be facing bigs like Giannis, Adebayo, Embiid, and Jokic, I'd imagine Tillman will get the call just based on his ability to push those guys off their spot and make them uncomfortable.

Don't get me wrong, Kornet has more than exceeded expectations this year and he may become very needed should something happen with KP, but his value may have been more in the regular season than the postseason.

[hardlyyardley]

Last night....Banton got 28 points and 6 assists

[Big333223]

Last night....Banton got 28 points and 6 assists

And Portland lost by 19.

As for Tillman, I've liked his minutes these last few games. He's a terrific defender and there are glimpses of some serviceable offense. Him and Korney will probably be competing for "3rd big" minutes but I wouldn't be surprised at all if Tillman's presence leads to more double big bench lineups.

[mobilija]

Have we seen the double big with Tillman and Porzingis yet?

[Neurotic Guy]

I'm expecting KP to be sat for a large part of the remainder of the regular season. For playoffs I'm expecting X and Luke to play like a platoon based on matchups. Probably not 20 mins a game but I'm expecting more than 4.

It'll be interesting to see how it works out. As it stands, Tillman is a worse version of Horford and Kornet is a worse version of KP. In the playoffs where we'll likely be facing bigs like Giannis, Adebayo, Embiid, and Jokic, I'd imagine Tillman will get the call just based on his ability to push those guys off their spot and make them uncomfortable.

Don't get me wrong, Kornet has more than exceeded expectations this year and he may become very needed should something happen with KP, but his value may have been more in the regular season than the postseason.

Luke exceeded expectations and it’s reasonable to think that he’ll have an awkward showing or two if he’s played in pressure situations v. high level competition in the playoffs.

[Surferdad]

Have we seen the double big with Tillman and Porzingis yet?

I don’t think so. It’s been Tillman mainly with Horford but also some with Kornet.

[ozgod]

Have we seen the double big with Tillman and Porzingis yet?

I don’t think so. It’s been Tillman mainly with Horford but also some with Kornet.

Yup, there's only been one lineup with X and KP together so far and it's only played for 0.7 minutes (marked with a XX in the screenshot below). X has played a lot of minutes both as the primary big, and as part of a two big lineup with both Al and Luke.

(click to enlarge)

[Big333223]

Have we seen the double big with Tillman and Porzingis yet?

I don’t think so. It’s been Tillman mainly with Horford but also some with Kornet.

Yup, there's only been one lineup with X and KP together so far and it's only played for 0.7 minutes (marked with a XX in the screenshot below). X has played a lot of minutes both as the primary big, and as part of a two big lineup with both Al and Luke.

That's interesting. I would think those two would make a lot of sense as a pair.