There wasn’t much the Celtics could do at the trade deadline. They were well above the luxury tax and one of just five teams over the NBA’s second apron. Plus, they were head and shoulders above the rest of the league, and Brad Stevens wanted to be careful about tinkering with the team’s camaraderie.
However, that didn’t mean Stevens wasn’t looking to add.
“There’s really not a ton we can do big without touching our main guys, right?” Stevens said back in January. “So, what you look at is guys that can play, guys that can add value, but like I said last year, don’t need to play. They are over themselves, and I think that that’s important. That’s what we have right now.”
Stevens and the Celtics prioritized strengthening their frontcourt depth, especially in case Kristaps Porzingis or Al Horford were sidelined during the postseason. This need prompted them to trade two second-round picks and Lamar Stevens to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for big man Xavier Tillman.
When the Celtics acquired Tillman, they were well aware of his defensive prowess. The fourth-year pro had proven himself against some of the league’s top talents, including Steph Curry, Luka Doncic, and Kawhi Leonard.
“We’ve always liked Xavier. He is, obviously, big and strong. Moves his feet well laterally,” Stevens said after the trade. “He’s been able to guard a number of people at a number of different positions, well. Above that, he plays the game for the right reasons. He competes. He passes. He thinks the game well. You know, all this stuff that we’ve been fortunate with the guys we have around our best players that they’ve brought to the table.”
“He knows how to play. We’re excited to have him. He’s a guy we’ve always liked and thought could be of help. We’ll see how that stuff all plays itself out. I mean, at the end of the day, what it does is give us a lot of flexibility.”
In Game 3, Stevens’ vision came to fruition. With Porzingis sidelined, the Celtics turned to Tillman for the first time in this series.
Tillman, who has embraced the role the Celtics sought at the deadline—a player ready to contribute whenever called upon—delivered in Game 3. He was the Celtics’player off the bench in Wednesday night’s win, finishing the night with four rebounds and two blocks en route to a +9.
The big man buried his lone shot attempt of the game, a corner three to give the Celtics a 13-point lead late in the third quarter on a feed from Jaylen Brown.
“I just knew when I drove, they were going to help, and he was going open,” Brown said on Tillman’s triple. “I trusted it all the way. I just knew it was going in. I don’t know how to tell you. It was just like a divine experience. I knew X was going to make that shot, and he did. That was big for us.”
The three-pointer sent the Boston bench into a frenzy, with Jaden Springer, Luke Kornet, Svi Mykhailiuk, Jordan Walsh, Payton Pritchard, Oshae Brissett, and Jayson Tatum all jumping up and down.
“To hear the bench going crazy on our end, guys like Svi and Oshae and stuff like that, it was pretty awesome, because those are my guys. Those are my SRG [Stay-Ready Group] guys,” Tillman said postgame.
“Day-in, day-out, we go to war with each other to try to better each other to be ready for whoever’s name gets called. So for them to celebrate with me is pretty cool.”
His numbers won’t jump off the stat sheet, but Tillman did exactly what he needed to, especially with his defensive presence. He held his own when switched onto Doncic and Kyrie Irving, even recording two blocks on the former.
“We needed somebody from the bench to come in and give us minutes, and Xavier was amazing tonight,” Al Horford said.
“His energy, defensively, he held his own, time and time again. He was just ready for the moment. It’s not easy being in that position. He came in, and he knocked down that big three as well. But defensively, he was special. I’m just proud of him because he didn’t get an opportunity the first two games, obviously, and he has stayed with it, and really took advantage of it. These are the type of games people remember forever, the type of impact he had.”
Tillman is no stranger to being ready for his moment. Every time his number has been called, he has provided the Celtics with exactly what they need.
“This is something, as far as staying ready, is something I’ve been doing for the majority of my career,” Tillman said. “My rookie year, I was fortunate enough to play because when my best friend was hurt, Jaren [Jackson Jr.] was recovering from his meniscus, so I was starting a lot. In my second year, I was out of rotation. In my third year, two guys were injured, Brandon Clarke and Steven Adams. So I stepped up again, you know what I’m saying.”
“So this is something that I’ve been preparing for a while now. So, I was ready for the opportunity. They were kind of hinting at potentially if KP’s workout didn’t go well and he didn’t feel comfortable that I was going to have to step in today.”
Before arriving in Boston, the Michigan State product has seen 340 career postseason minutes. He played in a heavy-switching defense in Memphis, which is part of why head coach Joe Mazzulla turned to him.
“He played in the Western Conference for three or four years, and so he’s played against the Mavs. And so he’s had that experience. Memphis has used a similar game plan, so he was used to that,” Mazzulla said. “I thought with that comfort level of playing against those guys for so long, he was going to be able to execute the things that we needed to execute.”
“I thought he did a great job in our switching and did a great job in our screening, getting into our spacing. And that’s what we talk about with those guys. Regardless of who is in and who is out, I trust the next man up because of the work they put in and the staff that prepares them.”
To secure a championship at the highest level, you need contributions from every player. Oshae Brissett and Luke Kornet have had their impactful moments this postseason, and in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, it was Tillman’s opportunity to step up.
“Big shout out to X,” Derrick White said. “To not be in the rotation but to stay locked in, and he gives us big-time minutes, plus nine, and he just does a little bit of everything out there. Then he guarded his ass off and hit a big shot and rebounds, and he just did a little bit of everything for us. Credit to him. Great, great teammate, great guy, and he was big for us.”
“X stepped into that role, and I thought he was great,” Brown added. “Defensively, I thought he was stellar.”
Stevens targets players like Tillman for moments exactly like this: A guy who can come in and swing a game, which Tillman did on the grandest stage, making the move another win for Stevens.
Related
