Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has been listed as “questionable” hours earlier than his crew will host the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of a thrilling first-round playoff series.
Tatum sat out the whole fourth quarter of a Game 6 defeat. While Boston announced on Friday that it had no accidents to report, Tatum popped up on its Saturday injury report with left knee stiffness.
Tatum tore his right Achilles tendon last May towards the New York Knicks within the Eastern Conference semifinals. He returned to action this year on March 6. Tatum performed 16 regular-season video games for the Celtics, who earned the No. 2 seed within the East regardless of his absence all through many of the 2025-26 marketing campaign.
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In the playoffs this 12 months, he’s averaged 23.3 factors, 10.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists per contest whereas capturing 47.5% from the sector, together with 36.5% from 3.
While Tatum not enjoying within the fourth quarter in Game 5 on Thursday raised the antennae of basketball followers in every single place, particularly these in Boston, harm considerations had been minimized postgame, as nicely as on Friday.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was requested for an replace on Tatum early Friday on “Get Up.”
“It’s positive right now,” Charania reported at the time. “Everyone in Boston is downplaying anything with Jayson Tatum, that this was even an injury. Joe Mazzulla denied that it was an injury at all. Jayson Tatum said after the game that it was just stiffness that he felt in his leg.
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Charania continued: “I’m told Jayson Tatum told some teammates after the game he’s fine, he’s good to go. So I think the expectation in Boston is, Game 7, Jayson Tatum is all good.”
But that stiffness in Tatum’s leg has now landed him on the harm report as “questionable” with a 7:30 p.m. ET tip quick approaching.
The Celtics have dropped back-to-back video games within the sequence after taking a 3-1 lead. The Sixers have discovered their mojo with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George all wholesome and rookie VJ Edgecombe offering contributions past his years.
Philadelphia has by no means come again to win a playoff sequence it’s trailed 3-1. It’s 0-for-18 in these situations. The Sixers are hoping to finally pull off a turnaround of that kind on Saturday in TD Garden.