Six-time All-Star Jayson Tatum played 39 or more minutes in three of the first five games of the Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers before sustaining a lower leg injury in Game 6, which led to him missing the do-or-die Game 7.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons has suggested that the Celtics may have caused the untimely injury by overexerting Tatum, who missed the first 62 games of the regular season recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
“Will never understand this. Made no sense as it was happening,” Simmons wrote on X, while highlighting that Tatum logged 39, 42, 35 and 41 minutes between Games 2-5.
Tatum logged only 29 minutes in Game 6 as he sat out the entire fourth quarter after sustaining what the Celtics called a calf injury. However, head coach Joe Mazzulla, who emptied his bench early in the fourth quarter, noted that Tatum was not injured and would have played down the stretch if the scores were close.
Jayson Tatum Injury
The injury to Tatum forced the Celtics to make significant changes to their starting unit, which didn’t help their cause in Saturday’s Game 7. Mazzulla inserted Ron Harper Jr., Luka Garza and Baylor Scheierman into the starting unit after starting Tatum, Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White in the first six games.
All three of Boston’s first-time playoff starters finished with zero points, making a bit of NBA history in the process.
“The Celtics are the first team to have three different starters (Luka Garza, Baylor Scheierman, Ron Harper Jr.) with 0 points in a playoff game since starters were first tracked in 1970-71,” ESPN Insights wrote on X.
Celtics Blow 3-1 Series Lead
The Celtics squandered a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history and lost a Game 7 to the Sixers after 42 years, while making some other unwanted NBA history.
When they claimed a 3-1 lead, the C’s were -650 favorites to win, having blown out the 76ers twice — in Game 1 (123-91) and Game 4 (128-96). Only one other team in NBA playoffs history has ever lost a series from that position of dominance. Per ESPN Insights, Boston became the second team ever to lose a series after two wins by 30+ points, joining the 1959 St. Louis Hawks.
“The Celtics are the second team in NBA history to lose a playoff series despite multiple 30-point wins in the series!
“They join the 1959 Hawks, who lost the West Division Finals to the Lakers in six games.”
Alas, Tatum won’t get his sweet revenge against the New York Knicks this year.
Celtics Accused of Inducing Jayson Tatum Injury: ‘Made No Sense’