BOSTON — Xavier Tillman showed what he can provide the Celtics during the 2024 NBA Finals, where he made a huge shot while playing stout defense on Luka Doncic. But Tillman was buried on the bench throughout last season as he wasn’t healthy on his way to a career-low 33 games played.

Tillman was bogged down by left knee issues, detailing some of those struggles after the Celtics’ first practice of training camp Tuesday. But the C’s big man hopes those flareups are behind him as he’s felt healthy throughout the summer heading into the new season.

“From just a playing perspective, it was very hard,” Tillman said of last season. “Just wanting to play, wanting to contribute. But I also knew I was going through stuff myself. My knee would have days where it would just swell up into a ba

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