{"id":100062,"date":"2024-03-02T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-02T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.celticsblog.com\/2024\/3\/2\/24087628\/xavier-tillman-looking-al-horford-mentorship-advice-boston-celtics"},"modified":"2024-03-02T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-02T19:00:00","slug":"xavier-tillman-is-turning-to-al-horford-for-mentorship-as-he-settles-into-boston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/02\/xavier-tillman-is-turning-to-al-horford-for-mentorship-as-he-settles-into-boston\/","title":{"rendered":"Xavier Tillman is turning to Al Horford for mentorship as he settles into Boston"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \"NBA:
Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tillman has been picking the veteran\u2019s brain in hopes of enjoying a long and successful NBA career.<\/em><\/p>\n

In his first few weeks in Boston, Xavier Tillman has mostly sat back and watched. A natural leader, Tillman became one of the louder voices in a Grizzlies locker room where being 25-years-old and a fourth-year NBA player classified him as a veteran. <\/p>\n

In Boston, he joins a roster headlined by older, established players who have been there before, like 37-year-old Al Horford and 33-year-old Jrue Holiday. As one of the new guys, he\u2019s opted to take it all in as he figures out the team\u2019s offensive and defensive schemes, and gets acclimated to the new environment. <\/p>\n

Horford \u2014 long known for mentoring younger players \u2014 has helped Tillman find his place on the team in his early days with the Celtics<\/a>, the new acquisition told NBC Sport Boston\u2019s Chris Forsberg<\/a> earlier this week. <\/p>\n

\u201cA big thing that Al has shown me is being able to use my voice,\u201d Tillman said, noting that Horford has relayed to him that he should always tell his teammates what he sees if he knows what he\u2019s doing. <\/p>\n

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\n Photo by Brian Babineau\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/cite>
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For Tillman, Horford\u2019s longevity and continued success serves as a hopeful glimpse into the future \u2013 both players are defensively versatile rather than traditional rim protectors, and while Horford\u2019s career is a tough act to follow for any NBA player, there\u2019s a reason why some have wondered if Tillman could end up being a long-term Horford replacement. <\/p>\n

Al extended his NBA career by becoming a floor spacer \u2013 he\u2019s hitting 40.4% of three-pointers this season, and converted on a remarkable 44.6% last year, one of the top marks in the league. <\/p>\n

Tillman is nowhere near there right now \u2013 he\u2019s a 26.4% career three-point shooter \u2013 but neither was Horford at age 25. Horford didn\u2019t shoot threes for most of his Atlanta days, but began to prioritize shooting in the second half of his career. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis past summer, I spent a lot of time on my threes, and I was getting up thousands and thousands of shots \u2013 movement threes, stationary threes,\u201d Tillman told Forsberg. \u201cThat\u2019s where the league is trending. Unless you\u2019re a big who can jump over the rim easy, you need to be able to shoot the three-ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Xavier Tillman is sinking three-pointers at a Celtics practice. pic.twitter.com\/Run8Vq9aul<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzellNBA) February 26, 2024<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n