Sport
Xavier Tillman explains knee injury that delayed Celtics debut
CHICAGO — The Celtics will have Xavier Tillman available for the first time Thursday night since acquiring the Grizzlies big man two weeks ago in a trade deadline week deal. The 6-foot-7 forward/center has not suited up in a game since January 29th due to a left knee issue. Tillman spoke about the injury with greater depth at Boston’s shootaround Thursday in Chicago before their first game after the All-Star Break.
“I had some swelling going on in there and it was just really painful to bend it,” Tillman said. “So, once I got the swelling out I was good to go.”
Tillman also explained he was dealing with a separate issue with the same knee earlier in the year but this one was a new issue that cropped up over the last few weeks. However, team doctors have given the big man the green light to play Thursday as Boston returns to action against the Bulls.
While Tillman will not be on a minutes limit, he is unsure just yet of whether he will be seeing the floor on Thursday after being cleared. However, he is intent on bringing
“I mean, my role here as far as what I can do is definitely bringing energy,” Tillman said. “Crashing the glass defending at a high level and getting those guys (free) with my screen and stuff like that.”
Boston gave up two second-round picks along with Lamar Stevens to acquire Tillman earlier this month to help fortify the team’s big man rotation. Team president of basketball operations Brad Stevens spoke highly of the fourth-year reserve after the deal.
“We’ve always liked Xavier,” Stevens said. “Obviously, big and strong, moves his feet well, laterally. So he’s been able to guard a number of people and a number of different positions well. Above that, he plays the game for the right reasons, right? He competes, he passes, thinks the game well. All the stuff that we’ve been fortunate with the guys we have around our best players, that they brought to the table.
“He knows how to play. So we’re excited to have him. He’s a guy that 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 it gives us a lot of flexibility. We’ve started with a quite smaller lineup most of the year, but we play several minutes a game with a big lineup, just hopefully gives us more options to do either.”
The Celtics are also expected to have new trade addition Jaden Springer (ankle) available in the coming days as they begin a two-game road trip after the All-Star Break starting in Chicago Thursday night.
