Injuries Could Be Deciding Factor in Game 7 of Sixers-Celtics Series

The Sixers' injury report is clean for Game 7, but the Celtics have a major question mark on their hands.

Apr 30, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) controls the ball against Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (9) during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Sixers are heading into a pivotal win-or-go-home Game 7 against the Boston Celtics on Saturday with no notable injuries to report, just as we all expected a week ago.

Wait, check that. No one expected any of those words to be written a week ago.

A week ago, the Sixers were fresh off gagging away home-court advantage after stealing it from the Celtics in Game 2. Joel Embiid figured to return in Game 4 less than three weeks removed from an appendectomy, but no one knew what shape he'd be in.

Embiid acquitted himself well in his playoff debut, but the rest of the Sixers did not. They got boatraced at home, 128-96, putting them in a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 series deficit heading back to Boston for Game 5.

A funny thing happened on the way to the Celtics' coronation, though. Instead of rolling over and playing dead, the Sixers rallied for back-to-back double-digit wins to force a Game 7 on Saturday.

While the Sixers' injury report is clean, the Celtics do have one extremely notable injury to monitor. Jayson Tatum is listed as ??? after leaving in the third quarter of Game 6 with a left leg injury.

Although Tatum did not return to Game 6, he told reporters after the game that he expected to play in Game 7 and was not "overly concerned." He said that he didn't return because the game had already gotten away from the Celtics on Thursday. (Head coach Joe Mazzulla rage-quit and pulled all of his starters early in the fourth quarter.)

Still, that's at least a noteworthy development for someone who tore his right Achilles tendon less than a year ago.

How concerned should Celtics be about Tatum?

During an appearance on ESPN's Get Up Friday morning, Shams Charania said "everyone in Boston is downplaying anything with Jayson Tatum, that this was even an injury."

.@ShamsCharania gives an update on Jayson Tatum's availability for Game 7 👀 pic.twitter.com/XLrcTLxcDA

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 1, 2026

However, former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins expressed concern about letting Tatum play through whatever afflicted him in Game 6.

"I'm gonna say this to the Celtics and the medical staff and everybody," Perkins said on ESPN's First Take on Friday. "I’m not going to question them because I’m not a doctor. But I’ve also been through a lot of injuries and a lot of surgeries. And I tore my ACL, and what the doctor told me is 'Hey Perk. The only bad news—your surgery was great, your recovery was great—the only bad news I have for you is that you have a higher percentage of tearing your other ACL because you overcompensate on that leg.' So when you think about what you just said with Tatum, if he’s feeling any type of discomfort, he might have to sit out Game 7. It's not worth the risk, to be honest with you."

Tatum is on track to play, but it's fair to wonder whether the Celtics are playing with fire. Other teams throughout the league have been extremely cautious with calf injuries this season after watching Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton blow out their Achilles tendons during the playoffs last year. Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner missed Games 5 and 6 of his team's first-round series against the Detroit Pistons because of a right calf strain.

Missing Games 5 and 6 when you're up 3-1 in the series is a different animal than sitting out a game that decides whether you're advancing to the next round or going home for the summer. The Celtics' medical staff might be hard-pressed to convince Tatum and the rest of the organization that the risk of him playing outweighs the reward.

The Sixers figure to put Tatum to the test early on, especially on defense, to see whether that tightness reemerges or hampers his mobility in any way. If it does, that could give the Sixers a huge advantage in an otherwise hostile environment.

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Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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