Boston Celtics
“He got here in at the moment with knee discomfort we determined – the medical group and myself determined for him to not play,” Mazzulla mentioned.
Celtics ahead Jayson Tatum will miss Saturday night time’s Recreation 7 in opposition to Philadelphia, coach Joe Mazzulla informed reporters.
Tatum got here in with stiffness in his left knee and the Celtics dominated him out shortly earlier than Mazzulla’s pre-game press convention. He had been downgraded to questionable earlier within the afternoon, however the information that he was out broke a couple of hours earlier than tip-off.
“He got here in at the moment with knee discomfort we determined – the medical group and myself determined for him to not play,” Mazzulla mentioned.
Mazzulla mentioned the stiffness was at the back of Tatum’s knee and that Tatum’s standing could be day-to-day shifting ahead.
A Celtics win would put them within the second spherical in opposition to the Knicks for the second yr in a row. A Celtics loss would finish their season. Boston has misplaced a pair of video games since leaping out to a 3-1 lead on this sequence in opposition to Philadelphia.
The Celtics performed the primary three-quarters of the season with out Tatum as he recovered from offseason surgical procedure to restore a ruptured Achilles’ tendon. They completed with the No. 2 seed within the Japanese Convention, outpacing preseason projections for his or her success.
“I feel a season is about creating completely different identities no matter who’s in or who’s out,” Mazzulla mentioned. “That’s one thing that we’ve completed all year long even when Jayson was out, so I feel that’s what the season is for, to create completely different identities and within the playoffs all through a sequence you attempt to lean on a couple of of these. A few the identities we’ve had all through the season, we’ll lean on tonight.”
Mazzulla mentioned he wasn’t fairly certain when the harm occurred. Tatum missed a big chunk of time within the second half, however Mazzulla had pulled all of the starters early.
“On the finish of the third, he was within the again getting remedy,” Mazzulla mentioned. “After which I talked to him at the moment and he got here in and he had stiffness in it and we sort of decided for him.”
Mazzulla mentioned the choice was made about 20 minutes earlier than his 5:45 p.m. press convention at TD Backyard.
The final time the Celtics performed a Recreation 7, Tatum injured his ankle within the opening minutes and the Celtics have been eradicated by the Warmth within the 2023 Japanese Convention Finals.
The final time the Celtics performed Philadelphia in a Recreation 7, Tatum scored 51 factors and closed out the 76ers within the 2023 convention semifinals.
On Saturday night time, the Celtics will try to increase their season with out Tatum.
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