MEMPHIS — It’s been a challenging year for Xavier Tillman, who has dealt with lingering knee issues and fallen entirely out of the Celtics rotation.
But, on March 31st, in his first game back against the Grizzlies team that drafted him, Tillman got the starting position.
“Please welcome back to FedEx Forum, former Memphis Grizzlies forward No. 26, Xavier Tillman Sr!” the in-arena announcer belted, drawing applause from the mix of Celtics and Grizzlies fans in attendance.
Jrue Holiday, a good friend of Tillman’s, jumped on him in celebration.
Tillman first found out he got the start when Joe Mazzulla called him at 12:30 pm, right before the 26-year-old forward was going to take his afternoon nap.
“I think you have moments when you’re able to validate your entire roster and just appreciate X,” Mazzulla said. “And the entire roster is important for a season, and X can still impact winning.”
His run against the Grizzlies wasn’t extensive or particularly productive — he played just 8 minutes and finished 0 for 5 from the field. But, Tillman was able to draw two early fouls on Grizzlies center Zach Edey, which Mazzulla pointed out affected the Celtics’ rim protection, and he racked up a critical steal in the third quarter.
Asked Joe Mazzulla about the decision to start Xavier Tillman against Memphis:
“I think you have moments when you’re able to validate your entire roster — and just appreciate X.”
“X can still impact winning.” pic.twitter.com/dY2U8rAkT1
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) April 1, 2025
“He can still impact winning,” Mazzulla said. “I just appreciate who he is as a person, and I think you got to validate the roster at times. And I know that he can still help us, and there may be an opportunity where he does.”
For Tillman, the opportunity to start against the Grizzlies meant a lot.
“The amount of history and effort and dedication I put into this ball club… me getting the opportunity to come back here, and just say thank you to the fans, my former teammates — it was pretty awesome,” Tillman said.
Xavier Tillman really appreciated getting the start vs Memphis:
“The amount of history and effort and dedication I put into this ball club. Then, me getting the opportunity to come back here, and just say thank you to the fans, my former teammates — it was pretty awesome.” pic.twitter.com/M7JP817MJY
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) April 1, 2025
Tillman’s stint didn’t make-or-break the game. But, it served as a reminder that Mazzulla invests in each of his players.
“The fans when I got here, and even the staff members, the security people that I would walk by just showed me so much love,” Tillman said. “It’s pretty amazing to be honest.”
Tillman is one of several Stay Ready guys on the Celtics — guys who haven’t gotten much run in the rotation but may be called upon on any given moment to contribute. Physically, that means he goes through warm-ups at 100%, knowing that he has to be prepared for NBA action.
He also explained his mindset of trying to improve the players around him.
“Mentally, my mind is more so on — how can I remind my guys the tendencies of the other team?” Tillman said. “At this point in time, this player likes to go left, this player likes to shoot threes, stuff like that. Not more so, ‘this could be my opportunity’, because literally, you just never know. So, if you always think like that, you shift away from being a helper, and more so just focus on yourself.”
Xavier Tillman had a really insightful answer when I asked him what it actually looks like to “stay ready.”
“Physically – I’m warming up, doing the same stuff that I normally would do, going hard.”
“Mentally, my mind is more so on – how can I remind my guys the tendencies of… pic.twitter.com/4eSjwq7FHQ
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) April 1, 2025
In addition to Tillman’s homecoming, here’s what else stood out from the Celtics’ win over the Grizzlies.
The Celtics are in the midst of a historic season
With a 117-103 win over the Grizzlies, the 2025 Celtics became the first team in Celtics history to go undefeated on a six-game road trip.
They improved their regular-season record to 56-19 (for context, through 75 games last year, the championship Celtics were just three games better, at 59-16). They’ve also now won an astonishing 15 of their last 16 road games — and remain the NBA’s best road team at 32-7.
When Mazzulla was asked why the Celtics are so good on the road, he stated simply: “I would venture to say that our guys are good everywhere.”
“I just think that we’ve been very focused,” Horford said. “Even last year, we were good especially in the playoffs, we did a really good job on the road, controlling the tempo, being able to play a certain way.”
The win over the Grizzlies wasn’t as smooth sailing as most of the Celtics’ wins on this road trip — they trailed by as many as 11 in the first half — but they were able to withstand each Grizzlies run and still come away with a double-digit victory.
The Celtics have a chance to tie the 2016 Golden State Warriors for the best road record in NBA history if they win their final two road games against the Knicks and Magic.
A few Celtics observations from courtside seats
Memphis is one of the few NBA arenas that still provides first-row seats for the media, giving reporters the ability to see (and hear) things you wouldn’t normally see from higher-up press seats.
It was my second time sitting courtside, the first of which I wrote about extensively in Dallas. Once again, the thing that struck me most was just how much more vocal Mazzulla was on the sidelines defensively than offensively, constantly chirping instructions at his team and expressing undeniable frustration when coverages were missed.
At one point in the second quarter, Tatum went over to Mazzulla after making a defensive mistake.
“I read it wrong, I went under,” Tatum said, then followed his apology to Mazzulla with a made three-point shot.
Another observation? The Celtics jostled with referee Tony Brothers a ton in the first half, with Mazzulla ultimately calling two (successful) challenges. Kristaps Porzingis, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Sam Cassell all had their turn at arguing with the veteran official. Tatum was hit with a technical foul late in the fourth.
Tatum said he still can’t figure out what qualifies as a tech in the NBA.
“Depends on the night — some things you say on a Tuesday, it’s cool, you say on a Saturday, they get you a tech. I ain’t got that $#!& figured out yet. I’ll let you know when I do.”
Al Horford keeps turning back the clock
It’s almost a tired storyline at this point, but Horford continues his elite play into his 18th NBA season. He finishes this one with 26 points on 9-18 shooting, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Sitting courtside, it’s even more evident how much of a leadership role Horford plays — from gesturing to Joe Mazzulla about timeouts, to diffusing team’s outbursts of frustration.
Horford said he had no idea that the Grizzlies were going to leave him open. He promptly made six of his 13 attempts from behind the arc.
“I’m always just trying to make the right play,” Horford said. “The right play for me tonight was to shoot it.’’
Jrue Holiday’s shot is back
Pregame, Joe Mazzulla pointed out that Jrue Holiday was shooting 43% from three since the All-Star break, so if the Grizzlies elected to once again leave him open as they did when the two teams last faced one another, he’d welcome it.
Holiday continued his hot shooting, hitting 4 of 6 threes in this one.
Derrick White is the Celtics’ single-season three-point leader — for now
Derrick White broke Isaiah Thomas’s record for most threes in a single-season in Celtics history, reaching 247 makes on the year in Monday’s win. Jayson Tatum (240) and Payton Pritchard (238) are not too far behind him, and the trio of players should finish the season as the top three on the leaderboard.
Postgame, White reflected on how he never expected to be in this position, recalling how he was left open by the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 Finals and how that was one of the lowest points of his career.
Derrick White is the Celtics’ single-season three-point leader (and in a race with Payton Pritchard & Jayson Tatum):
“Looking back on my career, I never thought I’d be in this position.”
Asked by @tvabby why not, he smiled and said:
“You watched me earlier in my career?” pic.twitter.com/4SJODSBWS7
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) April 1, 2025
Jaylen Brown misses the game as he nurses ongoing right knee injury
Jaylen Brown missed his 6th game in March — and third of the road trip — due to a right knee impingement that began bothering him before the All-Star break.
Mazzulla was asked about the balance between Brown resting and playing through the pain, and explained his perspective.
‘“To me, it’s more about just supporting him whatever he wants, put him in position,” Mazzulla said. “He always finds an opportunity in a situation, and then both things that we need him to be at his absolute best. At the same time, God willing, a long playoff run, you’re not always going to feel at your best. And so, can you be at your best even when you don’t feel like it? He does a great job taking care of himself, putting himself in position. He also does a good job working through things and finding ways to be impactful.”
Brown will need to play in 7 of the team’s remaining 8 games to reach the NBA’s 65-game minimum for awards. Given that so many stars are not eligible for awards, Brown has the potential to make All-NBA if he reaches that minimum.
The Celtics follow the six-game road trip with three consecutive home games — Wednesday against the Heat, Friday against the Suns, and Sunday against the Wizards.
