Stephen A. Smith has advice for Celtics, Jayson Tatum before Game 7 vs. 76ers

The Boston Celtics have a clean injury report for their game on Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers, meaning Jayson Tatum is cleared to play.

Game 7s always bring that extra bit of excitement, and this one should deliver when it tips off at 7:30 p.m EST. Saturday.

But Stephen A. Smith isn't buying it. During an appearance earlier in the day on ESPN's "First Take," the crew talked extensively about this matchup, and Smith said that Tatum shouldn't play and that the move would be too risky.

Stephen A. Smith on Jayson Tatum's injury

"He tore his Achilles in one leg while the calf is the other, and sometimes while you're rehabbing all of these bumps, you end up overcompensating," Smith said. "So you never ever really know what that is about. So, we've got to monitor that and how ready he is going to be for this Game 7."

Later, he added, "He should not take any risks. He should not risk it."

But Tatum and the Celtics are risking it. The move makes sense because it's do or die in Game 7. If the Celtics lose this game, they go home, so even if this pushes Tatum out of injury recovery early, it's easy to see why this decision was made.

So, Tatum, Derrick White and Jaylen Brown will try to lead the Celtics team to a rebound performance on the road. On the 76ers side of things, Joel Embiid is back, but can that push the team over the edge to close this series with a victory? The Celtics have more consistency on their side, especially after that Game 4 blowout, but it could go either way.