3 Things Boston Celtics Fans Must Know Today: Injuries, Quotes and Notes

The Boston Celtics take on the Philadelphia 76ers tonight in Game 2 of their opening-round series. The Celtics are hoping to build on their 32-point win over Philly in Game 1, but there are plenty of adjustments the Sixers can make to try to avoid another blowout.

Here’s everything you need to know heading into Game 2.

Injuries

The Celtics came out of Game 1 fairly unscathed. They only listed Ron Harper Jr. on the injury report, and he’s probable with a right ankle sprain. He could get some run if the Celtics build another big lead and Joe Mazzulla can treat this like a regular season game. Any time they can get away with playing their stars normal minutes will be helpful down the road.

As for the Sixers, Joel Embiid remains on the injury report after his appendectomy. Jorge Sedano reported after Game 1 that Embiid hasn’t ruled out returning this series, but he also hasn’t started any basketball activity.

Joel Embiid hasn't started basketball activity and his status for this series looks unlikely, per @Sedano pic.twitter.com/swGGDy5p0r
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) April 19, 2026

Tyrese Maxey is also on the report with the tendon strain in his right pinky. He’s playing with a wrap on the finger and it was clearly bothering him at points during the game.

Quotes

“You try to create a process to where the past result doesn't impact the future process, and we've talked about that preseason, regular season. We've had big wins. We've had to come in and watch the film and show we've had to get better. We've had tough losses. We've come in and had to show things that we've had to get better. That just remains the same. There's a humility aspect of, what it looks like we're at our best to play in a certain type of way from a physicality standpoint, an effort standpoint, which we try to bring every night, and then there's just possessions that you have to get better at regardless of if you win or not. We've tried to keep that process, but we had great preparation today at practice, and also every game takes on a life of its own. We just got to be ready to give the game what it needs.” - Joe Mazzulla on keeping the Celtics focused after a Game 1 blowout win.

The Celtics do a great job fighting human nature. They prepare as well as any team, probably better, and their willingness to accept that there's always ways to get better is what’s kept them from falling apart for most of the season.

If we’re looking for reasons to give Mazzulla the Coach of the Year award, this is it. As much as the X’s and O’s have been great, it’s the mentality he’s instilled in his team.

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“I think most of the immediate stuff is, like, if you see somebody driving to the rim, step in front of them, no matter what their scenario, especially if it’s Jaylen [Brown] or Jayson [Tatum]. Step in front of them, make them kick the ball out, then rotate off of that. But they got like, wide open, walk down the lane layups, walk down the lane dunks, I think Payton Pritchard got one too, those are the ones we can't give up. You know, it’s already gonna, you know, it’s gonna be tough regardless, and we’re capable of doing it, but we can’t give those types of plays up.” - Tyrese Maxey on fixing the Sixers defensive issues

The Sixers put up as much resistance in Game 1 as one of those paper banners a high school football team runs through at the homecoming game. And even there the players will trip sometimes, so the Sixers have work to do to catch up to the banner.

Whether it’s junking up the defense with creative zones, changing personnel, or just trying harder, the Sixers need to do something if they're going to have any chance of making this a series.

It's almost as if the Sixers game into Game 1 not believing the Celtics were as good as they’d shown this season, or that Tatum hadn’t made as much progress as he has. They have a lot to fix if tonight’s going to be different.

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“I mean, nah. It’s part of the process. It will forever be a part of my story. Obviously, it’s still fresh. Forty-eight weeks this past Tuesday. So I’m not sick of it. I understand the magnitude of the injury and the narrative around me coming back and everything in between. I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish in returning to play and all those things. There were days where I wasn’t even sure I was going to play this season, let alone get a chance to play today. So I’m openly just grateful that I’m in this position.” - Tatum on whether he’s tired of the questions about his rehab

Tatum has done a great job of embracing the highs and lows that come with this, although there aren’t many lows anymore.

I'm in shock over what I’m seeing Tatum accomplish on the floor. I’m not saying I agree with the Sixers testing him because he’s already proven a lot over this past month, but he’s switching onto Maxey and handling it well. Maxey is maybe the fastest guy in the league with the ball in his hands and Tatum is effectively switching onto him.

That's just amazing.

Notes

► Building off that last paragraph, Tatum spent 1:58 guarding Maxey, according to NBA tracking data, and Maxey shot 1-5 with one assist. This is the one he made:

pic.twitter.com/U6PgBS47k1
— John Karalis (@JohnKaralisClip) April 21, 2026

The Celtics will live with those kinds of makes. That was ridiculous.

Taking it a step further, Sixers players were 6-19 against Tatum in Game 1. That's a testament to him and the overall team defense.

“I thought he was engaged on every possession, whether it was at the point of attack on the ball, whether it was knowing who he could shift off of, and then doing a great job rebounding,” Mazzulla said. “I thought JT, the moments he was on the ball was great. I thought the moments he was off the ball, we were connected and we were shifting, and we did a great job there.”

► There was a lot of talk about Jordan Walsh guarding Maxey ahead of Game 1. Walsh didn’t get quite as much time on Maxey as I thought, but in the 1:21 of gametime he got, Maxey was just 0-1. Walsh did a very good job of denying Maxey the ball, which forced someone else to create. That alone is a big win.

► The Sixers 4-23 shooting from three was their fourth-worst shooting night of the year. Weirdly, they won the other three games (well, they were against Brooklyn, Orlando, and Indiana, so maybe it wasn’t so weird). The 23 attempts were their second-fewest.

► The Celtics tied an NBA record with 10 players making at least one three-pointer in Game 1

► Tatum’s 25/11/7 Game 1 was his 23rd career playoff game with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Only Larry Bird has more of those in franchise history (27).

► The Atlanta Hawks rallied to beat the New York Knicks last night, evening their opening-round series. That gives the Celtics an opportunity here to get some extra rest if they can keep handling their own business. It’d be a huge plus for them if they can rest while the Knicks are fighting for their playoff lives.

Want more? Listen to me on the Locked On Celtics Podcast

Tonight’s game tips off at 7 p.m. and is available on Peacock and NBC Sports Network.

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