The Boston Celtics were supposed to have this series wrapped up days ago. They held a 3-1 lead and were in complete control before the Philadelphia 76ers pulled back with back-to-back wins to force a Game 7 at TD Garden tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Now, on top of the pressure of fumbling a series advantage, Boston is waking up on Saturday morning to an injury scare involving the last person they can afford to lose.Jayson Tatum is on the injury report, and the timing could not be worse for a Celtics team that desperately needs him at full strength.
What Is Jayson Tatum’s Status for Game 7?
According to Marc Stein, Tatum has been declared out for tonight’s Game 7 as he deals with left knee stiffness. The designation was not on Boston’s initial Friday injury report, making the late update even more alarming.
The injury stems from Game 6 on Thursday night, when Tatum left the floor with four minutes left in the third quarter and headed straight to the locker room to be treated by trainer Nick Sang, the same person who oversaw his entire recovery from his torn right Achilles tendon.
Tatum came back to the bench with an ice pack taped around his left calf, but with Boston down by double digits, he never returned to the game. He finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists in 29 minutes.
Importantly, this injury is on the opposite leg from the one he tore last May. Tatum suffered an Achilles tear against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and missed the first 62 games of this regular season before returning on March 6.
He played just 16 regular-season games before this playoff run, which makes the left knee issue a separate concern rather than a recurrence. Still, any lower-body problem involving a player coming off a major injury is going to raise eyebrows.
The signals coming from inside the building were encouraging initially. Tatum told teammates after Game 6 that he is fine and good to go, and head coach Joe Mazzulla reinforced that message on Friday afternoon, confirming that Tatum would play. But it seems the Celtics are cautious with him, avoiding aggravating his injury.
What is not in question is how important he has been to everything the Celtics have done in this series. Tatum is averaging 23.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 6.8 assists through six games while shooting 47.5 percent from the floor. Those numbers tell you everything you need to know about what a limited or absent Tatum would mean tonight.
On the other side, the 76ers are getting a major injury update of their own. Joel Embiid, who was listed as out for the first four games with post-appendectomy surgery recovery, is now listed as probable after returning for Games 5 and 6 and making a massive impact both times.
Paul George is probable with an illness, and Tyrese Maxey carries a right finger tendon strain designation but is also expected to play. Philadelphia is 0-for-18 all-time when trailing 3-1 in a playoff series. Tonight, they get one more shot at history. Whether Tatum is fully healthy when the ball goes up at TD Garden could decide everything.
