Xavier Tillman's Role

[Celtics2021]

I don't think Theis is an upgrade over Kornet or Queta right now. I'd rather trade Tillman for a big wing. I don't know if that player is out there/available to the C's but a bench wing who can play the 3/4 would be ideal.

Tillman makes the minimum so I'm unsure what you get for him. I was surprised Joe didn't give Tillman a shot at guarding Randle... I like Tillman but he needs some reps to really be available... When he gets put in for a few minutes with the deep bench he looks lost.

The question is did Tillman settle for the minimum just to be able to stay in Boston? I don?t think he envisioned himself being an end of bench player in his second season with the team, after carving out a pretty decent role previously. I surely hope we didn?t do him bad during the negotiations.

We had already brought back Kornet and Queta when Tillman signed.  He was at best tied with Kornet last year, but on either case has been totally passed by both, but it shouldn?t have been a surprise to him when he signed that he would have competition for minutes, and if it was a surprise to him, that might say something about how he got passed. 

I was a huge Tillman fan: he was who I wanted at 26 and then 30 in the 2020 draft, and was stoked when we got him last Feb, but he has been hugely disappointing this year and I don?t what has happened other than some guys peak early and get passed by the rest of the league.  I still believe enough in him that I don?t need to move on from him, but I do feel my excitement had been misplaced.

[ozgod]

It?s as simple as Queta has passed him in the depth chart.

[Neurotic Guy]

It?s as simple as Queta has passed him in the depth chart.

Q and Luke continue to outshine X by a significant margin.  Of course, X isn?t getting meaningful minutes, but not looking any good in garbage minutes.  Meanwhile Luke and X are on a learning curve that continues to rise.  Both have great size, decent hands and give great effort.  Q shows offensive potential and Luke has been finding openings and finishing good feeds. Both are making an impact on offensive glass and protecting the rim.  Luke?s ceiling is probably what we see now - a useful backup - Q may have a higher ceiling.  X unfortunately is regressing.  Maybe it?s an injury that X can?t quite shake yet.

[Big333223]

I don't think Theis is an upgrade over Kornet or Queta right now. I'd rather trade Tillman for a big wing. I don't know if that player is out there/available to the C's but a bench wing who can play the 3/4 would be ideal.

Tillman makes the minimum so I'm unsure what you get for him. I was surprised Joe didn't give Tillman a shot at guarding Randle... I like Tillman but he needs some reps to really be available... When he gets put in for a few minutes with the deep bench he looks lost.

The question is did Tillman settle for the minimum just to be able to stay in Boston? I don?t think he envisioned himself being an end of bench player in his second season with the team, after carving out a pretty decent role previously. I surely hope we didn?t do him bad during the negotiations.

We had already brought back Kornet and Queta when Tillman signed.  He was at best tied with Kornet last year, but on either case has been totally passed by both, but it shouldn?t have been a surprise to him when he signed that he would have competition for minutes, and if it was a surprise to him, that might say something about how he got passed. 

I was a huge Tillman fan: he was who I wanted at 26 and then 30 in the 2020 draft, and was stoked when we got him last Feb, but he has been hugely disappointing this year and I don?t what has happened other than some guys peak early and get passed by the rest of the league.  I still believe enough in him that I don?t need to move on from him, but I do feel my excitement had been misplaced.

I still think it's injury related. He's battling something chronic that isn't being talked about much but other teams probably know about, which is why he went for the minimum during the summer.

[radiohead]

https://youtu.be/SQfwzwhAkcM?si=VAIG9B1YWjg862Yy

Here?s a nice interview with X. Interesting that he said that he was never a shooter and here he?s being encouraged to shoot. He also talked about how there were other offers but he chose to stay with the Celtics. Of course he said he doesn?t regret the decision but from his demeanor, it does seem that he?s happy being here. Hopefully Joe gives him more opportunities soon. I think his role is being limited because defenses are gonna leave him wide open to take the three. He definitely needs to improve on that.

[Goldstar88]

I don't think Theis is an upgrade over Kornet or Queta right now. I'd rather trade Tillman for a big wing. I don't know if that player is out there/available to the C's but a bench wing who can play the 3/4 would be ideal.

Tillman makes the minimum so I'm unsure what you get for him. I was surprised Joe didn't give Tillman a shot at guarding Randle... I like Tillman but he needs some reps to really be available... When he gets put in for a few minutes with the deep bench he looks lost.

The question is did Tillman settle for the minimum just to be able to stay in Boston? I don?t think he envisioned himself being an end of bench player in his second season with the team, after carving out a pretty decent role previously. I surely hope we didn?t do him bad during the negotiations.

We had already brought back Kornet and Queta when Tillman signed.  He was at best tied with Kornet last year, but on either case has been totally passed by both, but it shouldn?t have been a surprise to him when he signed that he would have competition for minutes, and if it was a surprise to him, that might say something about how he got passed. 

I was a huge Tillman fan: he was who I wanted at 26 and then 30 in the 2020 draft, and was stoked when we got him last Feb, but he has been hugely disappointing this year and I don?t what has happened other than some guys peak early and get passed by the rest of the league.  I still believe enough in him that I don?t need to move on from him, but I do feel my excitement had been misplaced.

I still think it's injury related. He's battling something chronic that isn't being talked about much but other teams probably know about, which is why he went for the minimum during the summer.

Think he?s dealt with chronic knee issues. I know he had surgery in the offseason.

[Roy H.]

Seriously, what's going on with Tilman?  He looked like a bad G-Leaguer last night.  He's always been a grit and grind type of guy who always played plus-defense and solid inside ball, with a spotty jumper.  What the hell happened?  Personal issues?  Or do people still think it's his knee?

[jambr380]

Seriously, what's going on with Tilman?  He looked like a bad G-Leaguer last night.  He's always been a grit and grind type of guy who always played plus-defense and solid inside ball, with a spotty jumper.  What the hell happened?  Personal issues?  Or do people still think it's his knee?

Tillman looked pretty decent in preseason, but he's been the worst player on the team during the season. He literally doesn't look like he can do anything positive out there on either end. Short, fat, slow, bad shooter, and bad instincts aren't exactly prime qualities you want in an NBA rotation player.

I was in favor of trading for him last year and was 'surprised' he stayed on for the minimum, but it looks like we kept the wrong fringe 10th-11th man between him and Oshae. Not that Oshae is awesome or anything, but he at least had a burst of energy and ability to move around on the court as a big.

[Roy H.]

Seriously, what's going on with Tilman?  He looked like a bad G-Leaguer last night.  He's always been a grit and grind type of guy who always played plus-defense and solid inside ball, with a spotty jumper.  What the hell happened?  Personal issues?  Or do people still think it's his knee?

Tillman looked pretty decent in preseason, but he's been the worst player on the team during the season. He literally doesn't look like he can do anything positive out there on either end. Short, fat, slow, bad shooter, and bad instincts aren't exactly prime qualities you want in an NBA rotation player.

I was in favor of trading for him last year and was 'surprised' he stayed on for the minimum, but it looks like we kept the wrong fringe 10th-11th man between him and Oshae. Not that Oshae is awesome or anything, but he at least had a burst of energy and ability to move around on the court as a big.

It's just puzzling to see that type of regression.  It's not just that he can't do the physical stuff, but he looks like it's his first year of playing pro basketball.  He gave us a boost in the playoffs because he was smart with his positioning and got to the right spots. 

[Who]

Looks like a physical problem. Can't move as well as he used to. Already undersized. He couldn't afford to lose the mobility he had.

[aefgogreen]

Seriously, what's going on with Tilman?  He looked like a bad G-Leaguer last night.  He's always been a grit and grind type of guy who always played plus-defense and solid inside ball, with a spotty jumper.  What the hell happened?  Personal issues?  Or do people still think it's his knee?

Tillman looked pretty decent in preseason, but he's been the worst player on the team during the season. He literally doesn't look like he can do anything positive out there on either end. Short, fat, slow, bad shooter, and bad instincts aren't exactly prime qualities you want in an NBA rotation player.

I was in favor of trading for him last year and was 'surprised' he stayed on for the minimum, but it looks like we kept the wrong fringe 10th-11th man between him and Oshae. Not that Oshae is awesome or anything, but he at least had a burst of energy and ability to move around on the court as a big.

It's just puzzling to see that type of regression.  It's not just that he can't do the physical stuff, but he looks like it's his first year of playing pro basketball.  He gave us a boost in the playoffs because he was smart with his positioning and got to the right spots.

He was critical in game 3 of the Finals.  But he hasn't been this same this year as he was in the playoffs last year.  I see Brad moving him for a second round pick to be named later.

[Vermont Green]

Tillman has severely declined this season over last, and last season he was less than he was in Memphis.  Here are his last season/this season stats

Minutes:       13.7 / 7.3
Pts                4.0 / 1.0
FG%         51.5% / 25.0%
3P%         28.6% / 18.2%
FT%         57.1% / 50.0%
Rebs            2.7 / 1.4
Orebs          0.7 / 0.3
TOV             0.3 / 0.3
Asst             1.0 / 0.3


I don't know what is wrong.  I suspect there is something physical but he also has totally lost his confidence.  He looks spooked out there, deer in the headlights, whatever cliche you want.  He has been a liability whenever he is on the court.  It is too bad, we could really use him if he was still playing like he did in MEM.

[tenn_smoothie]

Last night vs Memphis was another example of how badly Mazzulla has handled the playing time/development/implementation of Xavier Tillman into the Celtics playing rotation this season. To my mind he has blundered a possible productive rotation player's chance at any success for this team. And this is a position of need for this team. Though a bit undersized height-wise, Tillman provides interior muscle, an important role for a finesse team like the Celts, especially in the playoffs when games often become more intense and physical.

So vs Memphis last night  ........... One chance in one game ? Really one chance in 8 minutes. Real bad way to judge a player.
You have to give Tillman consistent minutes over several games to give him a reasonable chance at being productive.
Look at Kornet, Pritchard, Hauser for evidence of this.
Just all of a sudden starting Tillman one night and saying, "Here you go, you got one chance, really 8 minutes to sink or swim even though you have hardly seen the floor all season" is ridiculous. Typical Mazzulla.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Last night vs Memphis was another example of how badly Mazzulla has handled the playing time/development/implementation of Xavier Tillman into the Celtics playing rotation this season. To my mind he has blundered a possible productive rotation player's chance at any success for this team. And this is a position of need for this team. Though a bit undersized height-wise, Tillman provides interior muscle, an important role for a finesse team like the Celts, especially in the playoffs when games often become more intense and physical.

So vs Memphis last night  ........... One chance in one game ? Really one chance in 8 minutes. Real bad way to judge a player.
You have to give Tillman consistent minutes over several games to give him a reasonable chance at being productive.
Look at Kornet, Pritchard, Hauser for evidence of this.
Just all of a sudden starting Tillman one night and saying, "Here you go, you got one chance, really 8 minutes to sink or swim even though you have hardly seen the floor all season" is ridiculous. Typical Mazzulla.

Or you could blame Tillman for not being a good player?

[Phantom255x]

I'm pretty sure Tillman only started yesterday because Memphis was his former team and Mazzulla just wanted him to be acknowledged. And Boston has absolutely nothing to play for right now anyways so who cares. Tillman only really played the beginning of the game, and a few minutes to start the 2nd half.