Xavier Tillman’s Celtics debut is more than just a fun storyline

The Boston Celtics blew out the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night. Jayson Tatum (32 points) took over the second half, Jaylen Brown (25 points) quietly dominated on both ends, and Kristaps Porzingis (24 points) was firing on all cylinders from the jump.

All of those guys have been putting up those numbers all season. It’s almost as if fans have become numb to their greatness. And on Friday, there was a shiny new object that stole a chunk of the attention.

But in this case, the shiny object could turn out to be gold.

Xavier Tillman played his first real minutes since joining the Celtics ahead of the trade deadline. He got some run in the second and fourth quarters, and though his box score totals won’t jump off the page, his performance certainly raised some eyebrows.

“X looked good out there, man,” said Jaylen Brown. “It’s like he fit right in. he came right in and made contributions on defense, got a few rebounds, got some stops. And then, on offense, you can tell he’s got a good feel for the game.

“A good screen-setter. He’s got big hands, so I was able to find him a few times on the baseline and hit him in some of those seam passes, and just reading the defense and how they’re guarding. X looked real good tonight.”

Tillman finished the night with six points, one rebound, two assists, and a block while shooting 3-of-3 from the field, but it was everything in between that jumped out.

Nearly every stat he recorded told a deeper story.

His first points of the game were a result of some impressive defense on Luka Doncic. Tillman stuck with the Mavericks star, forced him to swing the ball, and after a Jrue Holiday steal, he was rewarded with a transition bucket.

The 25-year-old big man had no idea he was going to play, but he was hustling from the moment he touched the floor. And though he wishes he would have finished off a nifty dime from Jayson Tatum, he was happy with his play overall.

“Definitely didn’t know. I had no clue,” Tillman said with a smile. “I definitely had no clue. I felt like the minutes went well. I feel like the minutes went well as far as offensively [and] defensively.

“That one pass that JT threw me, someone got a hand on it, but I wish I would have kept my eyes on a little bit longer. I probably would have caught it and finished it. But as far as everything else went, I felt like it went pretty well.”

Tillman’s impact truly began to shine in the fourth quarter.

With 7:40 to go in the game, the Mavericks were sprinting down the floor. Boston’s lead was up to 18 points, but Dallas was still ready to fight.

Kyrie Irving pushed the pace, but Tillman cut him off at the rim and made him kick the ball out to the corner. Dallas swung it and found Doncic at the top of the key, who drove into Tillman before dumping the ball to Irving.

In an impressive double effort, Tillman stopped Doncic before pivoting to Irving and recording a block. Boston got the ball, and Tillman’s impact continued on the offensive end.

He found himself in the corner as Al Horford got double-teamed in the post. Tillman roamed under the hoop, received the pass from Horford, and quickly kept it moving to Payton Pritchard in the corner, who nailed a corner three.

But what’s most impressive about this play is the foresight Tillman had. Not only did he find Pritchard in the corner, but he told him to go there before the possession played out. As Tillman is about to sink under the hoop, he motions for Pritchard to slide over.

Though this was his first non-garbage-time run as a Celtic, the games he spent watching Boston play helped him prepare for what were some uber-impactful minutes against Dallas.

“I mean, [observing helped] a lot,” Tillman said. “It helps me find my rhythm. Be comfortable faster. Versus me going out there and trying to figure it out. It’s like, now I know what to expect now because I’ve been watching.”

And just a few plays after his block-to-assist sequence, Tillman maintained his dimer status.

He set a screen for Brown and immediately rolled, catching the pass. Maxi Kleber did his best to cut off all of Tillman’s passing options, but the newbie simply floated the ball over his head and hit Horford for an alley-oop layup.

His comfortability off the ball and as a playmaker has the potential to open up a bunch of new offensive avenues for Boston, and his defensive hustle makes him a valuable asset on that end, too.

As Tillman has gotten used to Boston, traffic and all, the Celtics have lifted him up and welcomed him as a new member of the family.

“It’s been good. Me getting a chance to sit back and learn from guys like Al, guys like Payton, guys like Oshae,” Tillman said. “Just helping me, like you said, get acclimated as far as how we like to operate, what the culture’s like. When we’re bringing the energy, when everybody’s kind of laid back.”

Simultaneously, the coaching staff has him well-prepared for life on the court.

“Then [the] coaching staff, like, [assistant coach] DJ MacLeay has been really helpful for me,” Tillman said. “Just helping me with the plays, helping me with the defensive schemes, and all that good stuff.”

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Brad Stevens said that when scouring the market for potential trades, the Celtics wanted a guy who could play alongside Horford or Kristaps Porzingis as well as one-big lineups. Tillman accomplished both of those feats against the Mavericks.

Meanwhile, Joe Mazzulla noted that Boston wanted to avoid moves that forced them to restart their chemistry-building process. On-court play is important, but so is running a smooth operation behind the scenes.

But Tillman seems to be fitting in just fine.

“Really, really laid back,” Tillman said of the Celtics’ culture. “I feel like this is a cool place in terms of keeping basketball basketball. Not like making it your identity, so that people are allowed to feel all the emotions, but at the same time, nobody takes it home, and nobody’s dwelling on it as well.

“And then when you come in the next day, you can see people just feel fresh-faced and everybody’s good, versus like dwelling on past performances and whatnot. So, that’s what I meant by business-like.”

It’s far too early to crown Tillman as the next legitimate rotation guy in Boston, but this performance was more than a few big-time shots and flashy plays. Tillman hustled constantly, was always in the right spots, and impacted the game with his high basketball IQ.

All of those things scream “potential Mazzulla favorite.”