BOSTON — Xavier Tillman has repeatedly informed reporters that he’s feeling a lot, a lot better.
He’s down 12 kilos, is not coping with knee swelling, and is eyeing a profession season on a Celtics crew that’s missing confirmed frontcourt choices.
And, on Wednesday evening, an offseason of tireless work culminated within the game-winning floater towards the Toronto Raptors.
After the second-unit Celtics blew a 12-point lead with lower than two minutes left to play, it was Tillman who discovered himself wide-open for the game-deciding bucket, calmly sinking it and subsequently erupting into celebration along with his teammates.
“I don’t care that it’s a preseason recreation,” Joe Mazzulla stated postgame. “The actual fact is we gained, and he was an enormous a part of that, and he delivered — and we’re going to want him as we begin the season.”
Tillman echoed that sentiment: although it’s simply preseason, the sport was significant.
“These are the sort of moments that I sort of actually relish.”
The 26-year-old has principally been out of the rotation since he was acquired by the Celtics in a midseason commerce in February of 2024.
However, regardless of that, his resume of clutch Celtics performs is rising; Wednesday truly marked Tillman’s second victory-deciding basket (we’ll always remember his clutch heroics towards the Sacramento Kings in April of 2024, proper?)
And, there’s Tillman’s most well-known play in inexperienced, the big-time three-pointer he drained late in Recreation 3 of the NBA Finals, which Mazzulla has referenced on quite a few events all through the previous few seasons.
However how does Tillman keep so calm in high-pressure moments?
He smiled when requested the query.
“I bought three youngsters — there’s actually nothing to emphasize about enjoying basketball,” Tillman stated after the sport. “I bought actual life at dwelling, so I’m not too anxious about what occurs right here.”
That late-game calmness was on full show on Wednesday, when Tillman scored all 7 of his factors within the closing 4 minutes of the fourth quarter — a three-pointer, a nifty end on the rim, and the game-winning floater.
To his teammates, the late-game impression comes as no shock.
“He’s very constant day in and day trip — along with his work, along with his power, when issues are going properly, when issues are going dangerous,” stated Derrick White. “He retains that very same demeanor. When the sport’s on the road, he’s actually encouraging, he’s actually upbeat.”
That work ethic and professionalism by no means modified.
The one distinction, now, is that Tillman is wholesome, and it’s altering what he can do on the court docket.
“I simply really feel extra explosive versus final 12 months, [when] I’d sort of be scared to leap, as a result of I didn’t know if my knee would be capable of soak up the response of the power,” he stated.
Mazzulla believes that this season’s defensive philosophy may benefit Tillman, too; the Celtics are poised to play a extra aggressive type of protection that ought to intensify his strengths.
“He does a fantastic job of getting deflections, nice job with lively palms, defending the rim,” Mazzulla stated.
“I’m extra of an aggressive kind of defender versus like a ‘simply keep again and shield the rim’ kind of defender,” Tillman stated.
Tillman has performed fewer than 500 minutes as a Celtic since arriving in Boston, however an elevated alternative could possibly be coming.
Jaylen Brown stated on his Twitch stream earlier this week that Tillman has been a coaching camp standout.
“I’m on the lookout for him to have an enormous 12 months,” Brown stated.
If Wednesday evening is any indication, the tides could possibly be turning.
Derrick White is wanting ahead to seeing it: “He labored his ass off for this.”
