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This is NOT meant to be a Xavier bashing thread. I’m just genuinely curious. I didn’t really see anything in him last year that made me super excited but I just chalked it up to him being on a new team. I have to say though, I’ve been super unimpressed with him this year so far as well.

So my question is what are people seeing in him that I might not be seeing? Or are there people that agree with me? I’m really genuinely curious. Thanks for any responses.

I liked him when we got him for his switch-ability, and his ability to post mismatches.

It just seems like he's regressed since we got him, especially this year. He's shooting 3's now though, which is an improvement in what was his main weakness.

Parasite wrote:This is NOT meant to be a Xavier bashing thread. I’m just genuinely curious. I didn’t really see anything in him last year that made me super excited but I just chalked it up to him being on a new team. I have to say though, I’ve been super unimpressed with him this year so far as well.

So my question is what are people seeing in him that I might not be seeing? Or are there people that agree with me? I’m really genuinely curious. Thanks for any responses.

He showed (last season) that he's highly switchable. The 3-Ball helps.
He's a PF, not a Center. As long as he's comfortable where he is, let's keep him.

I would advocate dealing him and a couple of 2nds for a better player, but his limited salary makes that really difficult.
Just can't match contracts...

Parasite wrote:This is NOT meant to be a Xavier bashing thread. I’m just genuinely curious. I didn’t really see anything in him last year that made me super excited but I just chalked it up to him being on a new team. I have to say though, I’ve been super unimpressed with him this year so far as well.

So my question is what are people seeing in him that I might not be seeing? Or are there people that agree with me? I’m really genuinely curious. Thanks for any responses.

Steals, blocks, hustle plays, defensive versatility, passing acumen, handles the ball a bit, allows Al to save some energy out there.

excellent and versatile defender
big strong frame
passing ability and some potential shooting
seems to have a good attitude and be a likable, team-first guy

He looks a lot slower than prior years but with off season surgery it's reasonable that it will take some time for bim to come back. Ill give him till Christmas to get a better handle on him.

At the salary he's getting, whatever he contributes is good enough.

He has the potential of becoming a very good defensive big, especially after doing a good job defending AD in the playoffs in 2023.

Elite switchability which matters a lot more in the playoffs when traditional centers get played off the floor. Poor finisher due to limited vertical explosiveness but excellent screener and passer for his position. Developping three point shooter. Great teammate by all accounts.

He is a strong and somewhat versatile defensive presence with the potential to become, situationally, an elite defensive player.

He ideally can do just enough offensively to not be a negative on offense.

is all

Triple M wrote:He looks a lot slower than prior years but with off season surgery it's reasonable that it will take some time for bim to come back. Ill give him till Christmas to get a better handle on him.

Ahh, okay, that explains it.

For the salary and role, is very hard to complain. Same goes for Queta and Kornet. Stevens did a great job filling out the big man rotation with very limited resources.

Triple M wrote:He looks a lot slower than prior years but with off season surgery it's reasonable that it will take some time for bim to come back. Ill give him till Christmas to get a better handle on him.

I completely forgot about the surgery. Oops. Yeah I will give him more time as well.

They’re forcing him into the Grant Williams role. Big mistake, despite that huge corner 3 he made in the Finals. Totally different players on offense.

He can confuse opponents into thinking there are two Al Horfords.

On offense, it's like playing 4 on 5 when he's on the floor. He should be buried on the bench and only used when we need a big mobile defender with strength. Asking him to do more, well, is a complete disaster as we have seen this season. If there are injuries or our bigs aren't playing, I would rather go small with Springer because at least he is a good athlete and can play D. Queta is the future big.

31to6 wrote:excellent and versatile defender
big strong frame
passing ability and some potential shooting
seems to have a good attitude and be a likable, team-first guy

All this, plus he's cheap. The Cs roster is top heavy from a salary (and talent) perspective. That doesn't leave much flexibility to bring in top reserves.

He is a big bodied switchable defender with minimum salary
On offense he is forced to play on the 3 line, which is not working
He should play a Kornet style game on offense - set picks, pass, crash the boards and occasional post up
I think that asking him too much on offense gets him to lose confidence on defense
The 3 ball will come in 2-3 years if he'll continue working hard

VeryMuchWoke wrote:

Triple M wrote:He looks a lot slower than prior years but with off season surgery it's reasonable that it will take some time for bim to come back. Ill give him till Christmas to get a better handle on him.

Ahh, okay, that explains it.

For the salary and role, is very hard to complain. Same goes for Queta and Kornet. Stevens did a great job filling out the big man rotation with very limited resources.

He does look a bit slower and it's limiting his effectiveness. It might be that he needed to "get a little worse before getting better" post-surgery, and that's fine. It's best if the team brings him along slowly and let him heal.

Dude is a solid pro, and is on a good contract. As we saw, he may be that effective against athletic bigs like Claxton, but when healthy he has good ability to switch, rebound and hopefully the 3 ball is there for him.

As Queta rises, I imagine Tillman's role will, maybe diminish in the reg season. That's OK too, he's still a good value if only for occasional Horford insurance.

No need to move X now. I'd like to see him healthy in the playoffs with a full season under his belt.

darrendaye wrote:

Parasite wrote:This is NOT meant to be a Xavier bashing thread. I’m just genuinely curious. I didn’t really see anything in him last year that made me super excited but I just chalked it up to him being on a new team. I have to say though, I’ve been super unimpressed with him this year so far as well.

So my question is what are people seeing in him that I might not be seeing? Or are there people that agree with me? I’m really genuinely curious. Thanks for any responses.

Steals, blocks, hustle plays, defensive versatility, passing acumen, handles the ball a bit, allows Al to save some energy out there.

Also gives you more shooting than Kornet and Queta do..

Over Tillman's last 29 games (including this season, preseason, 2024 playoffs and the last 8 games he played in last year reg season, he's 16/38 (42.1%) from 3..

Useful player. Brissett replacement for roughly the same money.