The Boston Celtics dropped Game 6 to the Philadelphia 76ers, and they are headed to Game 7 of the first round. But the loss wasn’t the only setback for Boston. Jayson Tatum had to exit the contest with a left calf injury.

During the third quarter, Tatum walked to the locker room with the injury. He came back later, but didn’t play beyond the 4-minute mark in the third quarter. Stephen A. Smith later flagged Tatum’s leg injury and said that Tim Grover, the personal trainer who trained Michael Jordan, had expressed concern about Tatum’s latest injury. 

“I remember the great Tim Grover, who used to train Michael Jordan, a friend of mine, wonderful dude. He texted me this morning. ‘Remember what I told you years ago about the Achilles?’” he read messages from the trainer. “‘I’ve never been worried about the surgical one. My concern was always the other leg when a player comes back.’ Because you’re overcompensating on that one leg, which is what Tatum may have done.” 

During the third and fourth quarters, Tatum was seen rubbing his left calf [he had ruptured Achilles in his right leg] and putting an ice pack on it while he sat on the bench. Smith feared another big injury for Tatum and said that JT was too valuable to be risked even for Game 7. 

“Rubbing that calf. That reminded me a little bit too much of Kevin Durant when he tore his Achilles…. Because of that tightness, he had to come out of the game. 

“Now you got a Game 7 on Saturday. I’m here to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, I don’t know about y’all and how y’all feel about it. I’m not playing Jayson Tatum if I’m the Boston Celtics. I got a $350 million investment in this brother.”

After the game, Tatum told reporters that his leg was "stiff" and that he was assessing the situation to see if he could return to the game. However, since the game already seemed out of reach, Joe Mazzulla took out his starters within the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. 

Celtics provide availability update on Jayson Tatum for Game 7

Tatum's injury drew immediate attention after the Game 6 loss. On Friday, the team finally revealed ‌Tatum’s injury status in their injury report for Game 7.

According to a post by the Celtics social media team, no Celtics players were on the injury report, meaning Tatum will‌ take the court in the Game 7. During the postgame press conference after Game 6, Tatum said he expected to play on Saturday. His exclusion from the injury report indicates that he is ready for the game. 

However, Tatum’s Game 6 injury should still concern the Celtics. He is already exerting more on his left leg due to the previous Achilles injury in his right leg. 

Are you taking the Celtics over the 76ers in Game 7 on Saturday? Drop your pick in the comments.

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Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Siddharth Rawat