With Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. out, the Memphis Grizzlies were supposed to be struggling big time. However, they’ve managed to stay afloat and in the early playoff hunt at 5-6. A big part of that success has been former Spartan big man Xavier Tillman.
After starting the season on the bench with knee soreness, Tillman has quickly established himself as a key rotation player for the Grizzlies, anchoring their bench unit as the backup center. That is a tough role for a rookie, but Tillman has excelled, seemingly setting new career-highs with every single game and turning heads around the league.
Tillman had another great game in the Grizzlies win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night and set another new career-high in scoring with 12 points.
Here are the highlights from the game, which start with a floater from Tillman which earned him his 10th point of the night, setting his career-high. He would go on to tally 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in just 18 minutes of action:
The 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐛 came up big in tonight's win 📹
🐻 @GraysonJAllen 20 pts
🐻 @DeAnthonyMelton 15 pts 4 ast
🐻 @Rookiedunker 12 pts 5 reb 3 ast 2 stl #GrzNxtGen pic.twitter.com/CEYGIkgYoz— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) January 14, 2021
Tillman is starting to garner some attention by analysts around the league:
Looks like Xavier Tillman already figuring this NBA thing out as a rookie: 12 pts, 5 reb, 3 asst, 2 stl in 18 mins for Memphis in a win tonight
https://t.co/Ik0km9tYOm via @false— John Niyo (@JohnNiyo) January 14, 2021
And here is what his coach has to say about the Spartan:
I asked Coach Jenkins about Xavier Tillman's performance tonight and his transition at the 5. He said he's learning at a "rapid rate" and he knows how to impact the game in a variety of ways.
"He just knows how to go out there and impact winning."
— Grizzly Bear Blues (@sbnGrizzlies) January 14, 2021
