NBA Playoffs | Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics: Game 7
Written by: Varun Sharma
Last Update: Sat May 02, 2026, 5:02 pm ET
Read Time: 5 minutes
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Two of the scariest words in all of sports, Game 7. Tonight we've got the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics set to face off in Game 7 of this Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
I'm beyond sweaty, so let's just jump straight into this game and talk about what's at stake.
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Game Information
Matchup Information
- Location: TD Garden; Boston, Massachusetts
- Date: Saturday, May 2nd, 2026
- Tipoff: 7:40 PM EST
Postseason Performers
- Joel Embiid (PHI): 35.7 MPG | 26.0 PPG | 8.0 RPG | 7.3 APG
- Jayson Tatum (BOS): 36.3 MPG | 23.3 PPG | 10.7 RPG | 6.8 APG
Betting Odds
Odds via Lucky Rebel, an industry leader in the sports betting world.
Analysis & Breakdown
Trouble at TD Garden?
The Celtics held a 3-1 lead in this series and now after back to back losses, they've got their entire fan base on edge (me included). After finishing the year with a top three offensive and defensive rating, the Celtics just haven't looked the same here in the postseason.
Boston ranks 9th among the 16 playoff teams in defensive rating, 4th in offensive rating and 9th in true shooting percentage. Jaylen Brown's MVP-esque regular season translated to the first three games of this series, but over the last three he's continued to struggle.
Brown's averaging just 20.0 points per game in these three games, shooting 40% from the field and averaging 3.7 turnovers per game. The turnovers have been the biggest issue, Brown currently leads the NBA in offensive fouls during the postseason and it's lead to a ton of issues for Boston.
Jayson Tatum's status has also come into question today, with the forward now dealing with left knee soreness. He's looked great since coming back from the achilles tear and they'll need him tonight if they hope to move on from this series.
Comeback Complete?
The Sixers have all the momentum in this series and now going back to Boston, this will be their toughest test yet. Joel Embiid's looked great post-appendectomy and he's helped vault the Sixers to back to back wins to put them right back in this series.
Embiid's averaging 26.0 points per game in this series and Tyrese Maxey's right there with at 26.3 points per game. The Sixers' two biggest stars have been just that, big stars. The two have combined for nearly 53 points per game, almost 14 assists and nearly 12 rebounds per game. The duo's been great and Boston's had no answer.
Outside of Embiid and Maxey, the Sixers depth has payed dividends in these past two games. Paul George is averaging 18.2 points per game and is coming off his best game of the series. He scored 23 points in Game 6 shot 47.1% from the field. George is also shooting over 50% from three and like I said, the Celtics just haven't had an answer.
Saturday Night's Best Bets
Paul George o15.5 Points (-115) | Lucky Rebel
Like I said, George has been great in this series. As much as it pains me to do this, I'm betting his points prop. George is shooting 54.1% from three, he's shooting nearly 50% from the field and coming off his best game of the postseason.
George has also cleared this line in all six games of this series and tonight I don't see why that would change. He's averaging 36.4 minutes per game and Nick Nurse has been designing almost every ATO to go straight to PG-13.
The Sixers are also averaging 1.58 points per possession off of ATO's but just 1.2 points per possession otherwise. If the Sixers win tonight, George will have a big hand in it.
Jayson Tatum o29.5 P/A (-122) | Lucky Rebel
Even with the news of left knee soreness, I'm still going right back to Jayson Tatum. He's been great since coming back and Game 7s are when we've seen Tatum come alive. Excluding their Game 7 against the Heat in 2023, Tatum's averaging 35.3 points per game in Game 7s.
Tatum's got a 5-2 record in Game 7s and if you remove that Heat game where he hurt his ankle, he's 5-1. If he plays tonight, I'm expecting high usage, high shot volume and more than anything else; a ton of minutes.
Let's just hope he suits up tonight.
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