Xavier Tillman’s early season was defined by a frustrating battle against irrelevance at the deep end of the bench. He spent most nights logging brief, empty cardio sessions that actively dragged down his advanced metrics. Look no further than 12/05 vs WAS, where he wandered through five scoreless minutes to register a catastrophic -14.9 impact score simply by failing to generate any tangible box score stats. Yet, when thrust into a sudden starting role on 11/30 vs CLE, he logged 30 minutes and posted a +5.9 impact score despite scoring just 9 points. That positive rating stemmed entirely from his rugged interior effort, as he pulled down 6 rebounds and provided the gritty physical anchor the unit desperately needed. Unfortunately, that flash of utility was short-lived. He immediately returned to garbage-time duty, managing just two points in three minutes on 12/06 vs LAL for a dismal -7.2 impact.

Xavier Tillman’s mid-season stretch was defined by absolute offensive invisibility and garbage-time banishment. He was essentially a ghost on the hardwood. During the 01/18 vs ATL matchup, he logged five empty minutes and missed his only shot attempt, generating a dismal -12.8 impact score. That severe negative rating stems directly from his complete failure to register basic counting stats, rendering him a total non-threat who dragged down lineup efficiency. The futility peaked on 02/22 vs WAS. In just four minutes of action, he posted a staggering -13.9 impact score while failing to score a single point. Even when he finally secured two points and three rebounds during a seven-minute appearance on 02/24 vs CHI, poor perimeter shot selection kept his impact at a negative -6.2. Missing both of his three-point attempts in that contest reveals a fringe big man pressing for relevance instead of sticking to high-percentage interior looks.