Celtics’ Xavier Tillman Doesn’t Hold Back on Outside Criticism

Originally posted on Boston Celtics on SI
By Patrick Warren | Last updated Oct 14, 2025 3:00 PM ET

It's no secret that the Boston Celtics' frontcourt will look almost entirely different this season than it did in the 2024-2025 season.

With Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet departing the team over the offseason (Horford and Kornet left in free agency, Porzingis was traded), the Celtics will turn to a group of young centers and forwards to pick up where they left off.

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While there is plenty of potential for young players like Luka Garza and Xavier Tillman Sr. to contribute, their relative lack of experience could prove a challenge for a Celtics team missing its leader in forward Jayson Tatum. Sam Houser and Chris Boucher are the only two active frontcourt players on the Celtics' active roster who have ever averaged nine or more points per game in a season.

Regardless of the outside noise surrounding the Boston frontcourt, Tillman said that the team is drowning out what the media and fans are saying about the construction of the roster.

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"Hell no, we don't talk about that. We don't give a damn what anybody says," Tillman said after practice on Sunday. "We don't talk about it at all, other than our excitement for the opportunity, that's what we talk about. All we can control is our preparation coming in, working hard, watching film and then after that, see how it turns out."

Xavier Tillman Sr. when asked if the Celtics’ bigs talk about being discounted externally:

“Hell no we don’t talk about that. We don’t give a damn what anybody says.”

“We don't talk about it at all, other than our excitement for the opportunity, that's what we talk about…All… pic.twitter.com/TX1rTJFNsO
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) October 12, 2025

As it stands now, it appears that Neemias Queta is the favorite to start at center, after he over 17 minutes in the Celtics' 107-105 preseason los to the Trail Blazers. Behind Queta, Garza was the first backup to see action. The 26-year-old has had a commendable preseason, averaging over 9.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Tillman is a longer shot to be a major contributor to the team, as his preseason performance has not been inspiring. Through three games, Tillman is averaging 3.0 points, 2.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game.

Much Work To Be Done Still

As many of the Celtics' bigs are working together for the first time, Tillman said there is still a lot of work to be done in order to develop chemistry.

"[We're] coming together," Tillman said. "We're gonna be a work in progress the whole season, but we're coming together. Slowly but surely."