Once the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Boston Celtics to force a Game 7, all of the attention was placed on the star forward, Jayson Tatum.
While some may be skeptical about Tatum’s playing status for Game 7, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had a two-word message for the doubters: “He’ll play.”
“He’ll play.”
During the Celtics’ Game 6 loss, Tatum left with what was described as calf tightness. The star forward didn’t return to the court.
Tatum’s night concluded after he saw the court for 28 minutes of action. The veteran forward shot 6-13 from the field, scoring 17 points. He contributed with a double-double, coming down with 11 rebounds. Tatum also dished out three assists.
Jayson Tatum Addresses The Early Exit
After the 76ers collected a 106-93 win over the Celtics, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla publicly claimed that Tatum did not suffer an injury in Game 6. Shortly after, Tatum answered questions about the incident.
“I wasn’t overly concerned,” Jayson told reporters. “It’s not like that big of a deal. You guys probably saw when I went to the back, saw me on the bike — my leg just was a little stiff when I came out in the third quarter.”
The Celtics wisely held Tatum out for the remainder of the game. As he later stated, the matchup was out of reach for Boston. Keeping the star forward fresh for the seventh and final outing was the correct move.
Tatum and the Celtics will host the 76ers on Saturday, May 2. The game is slated to tip off at 7:30 PM ET.
While the Celtics didn’t submit an official injury report just yet, Mazzulla insists that Tatum will be on the court.