Xavier Tillman Sr. hasn't played in ten of the Boston Celtics' last 11 games. That includes spending four straight contests on the bench. He registered a DNP-CD, which stands for did not play - coach's decision, in each of those matchups.
However, in Sunday's 117-115 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Joe Mazzulla trusted Tillman. He inserted the five-year veteran into Boston's first unit. It was his first start this season.
Perhaps that was a product of circumstance. The Celtics were playing in the second half of a back-to-back. Furthermore, they didn't arrive in "The Rock and Roll Capital of the World" until about 2 a.m. after suffering a 119-115 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The reason was that their flight got delayed.
With Neemias Queta out due to left ankle sprain injury management, Mazzulla could have called on Luka Garza to start, as he did in Wednesday's win over the Detroit Pistons. He could have given that opportunity to Amari Williams, who earned rave reviews for his performance in that victory vs. Detroit.
Instead, Boston's bench boss called upon Tillman. After the Celtics earned one of their gutsiest wins this season, he explained why.
The reason Joe Mazzulla started Xavier Tillman Sr.
Tillman's knee is in a much better place than when it would swell up on him a season ago. He also lost 12 pounds this summer. The combination has allowed him to return to form at the defensive end of the floor. The former Michigan State standout is far more mobile than he was during the previous campaign.
Still, he entered Sunday's win having appeared in just eight of Boston's 19 games. He was averaging 2.5 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.1 minutes of floor time.
Joe Mazzulla didn't care about that, or Tillman only appearing in one of the Celtics' last 11 tilts. He trusted his veteran center, who is known for his dependability.
"We talk about it a lot, depth has a lot of different definitions, and every game is different. X is the ultimate professional. Whether he plays every game or he misses 10 games, I have a level of trust that he's gonna go out there, he's gonna execute, and he's gonna do exactly what we want," said Mazzulla, via the NBC Sports Boston post-game show.
"And that's really hard to do in this league, and you can't take a guy like that for granted. He works. He's always read, and like I said, regardless of how much time goes in between games, I think one of the biggest keys you can have as a player is having trust with your staff, and any time he's in, we trust that he'll execute. So, that was big time by him."