‘Let's check the ball up': Jaylen Brown ready for first game against Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Jaylen Brown was asked Sunday whether he and Jayson Tatum had spoken since the former teammates addressed their relationship during the preseason.
“No,” Brown said.
Does he plan to approach Tatum before Tuesday night’s game at Xfinity Mobile Arena?
“I mean, he’s on his side, I’m on my side,” Brown said. “We’re playing basketball. Both of us are trying to win. So it’s nothing to talk about. Let’s check the ball up.”
After months of public comments, documentaries and questions about how their partnership ended, the basketball will finally take over.
Brown will face Boston for the first time since the Celtics traded him to Philadelphia for Paul George and four future draft assets in July. He spent his first 10 NBA seasons in Boston, played nine alongside Tatum and helped the Celtics win the 2024 championship, earning Finals MVP honors.
Tuesday’s 8 p.m. game on NBC will also bring together the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers are 9-2. Boston, riding a three-game winning streak, is 8-2 and sits a half-game behind Philadelphia.
“Another good opportunity for our team to be able to show what we’re made of,” Brown said. “I’m looking forward to it. Big-time matchup, two heavyweights in the East. Let’s get it.”
A reunion without the small talk
Brown has not hidden his appreciation for Boston, even as more has emerged about the deterioration of his relationship with Tatum and the organization.
“I love Boston,” he said Sunday. “Boston’s a great city. A lot of people I developed relationships with, you know what I mean? But I’m just focused on what’s in front of me right now. And that’s the most important thing.”
He also acknowledged everything that accompanies an abrupt end to a decade with one organization.
“Decisions were made,” Brown said. “It’s life. It’s business. Move on. It’s OK. … It’s emotions. You’ve got to pack up and move your stuff. Your family’s got to pack up and move. But it’s life. It’s happened to numerous amounts of people, myself included.
“So I just look forward to being able to build with my team over here, trying to make the best of my situation.”
Brown faced the Celtics during the preseason, but Tuesday will be the first meeting that counts. He said he did not know whether that would introduce emotions that were absent during the exhibition schedule.
“We’ll see how I feel when we get out there,” Brown said. “As of now, I’ve got no emotion toward nothing. So I’m just ready to go.”
Tatum was similarly restrained after Boston’s 117-97 victory over Milwaukee on Sunday.
“It’s another game on the schedule,” Tatum said. “It’s the Celtics versus the Sixers. In the words of Brad Stevens, they all count as one.”
Tatum called the Sixers “an incredible group” with a “great coaching staff,” but declined to add to the discussion surrounding his relationship with Brown.
“Drama gets clicks and views,” he said. “That’s not my thing.” CBS Sports reported Tatum’s full comments Sunday night.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was even more concise.
“It’ll be fun,” Mazzulla said. “It’ll be a good atmosphere.”
The other side of the trade
Brown is not the only centerpiece of the July deal who will face his former team.
George has settled quickly into Boston’s lineup, averaging 20.4 points and supplying the high-volume outside shooting the Celtics have long prioritized. He scored 27 points and made five three-pointers Sunday as Boston beat Milwaukee for its third consecutive victory.
The Celtics have not needed George to duplicate everything Brown provided. He has fit alongside Tatum, Derrick White and Boston’s returning core as another willing shooter and versatile defender.
Tatum is averaging 27.1 points, six rebounds and 7.8 assists. His playmaking has been especially important for a team that replaced Brown’s downhill pressure with more shooting and ball movement.
Boston enters Tuesday ranked third in offensive rating and fourth in defensive rating. It is one of two NBA teams currently inside the top five on both ends of the floor.
The Celtics have also made 15.6 three-pointers per game, the second-highest average in the league. They set an NBA Cup record by hitting 24 against Charlotte on Friday, then made 18 more Sunday in Milwaukee.
That presents a clear challenge for a Sixers defense that has generally performed well but has occasionally surrendered clean perimeter looks after committing extra help toward the ball. Tatum, George, White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser can all punish late rotations.
What the matchup could reveal
The Sixers have reached 9-2 without depending upon the same formula every night.
Tyrese Maxey leads them at 26.9 points per game. Brown is averaging 22.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and four assists while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from three. Joel Embiid and LeBron James have supplied scoring, passing and defensive flexibility around them.
Brown has repeatedly described the team as unfinished despite its record.
“From our perspective, it’s been some growing pains for sure, even though we’ve been able to win,” he said. “The result, we’re not so much fixated on the result. It’s more so about the process, and we’ve got to improve our process and our mentality to creating a winning environment.”
Boston should provide the clearest early measure of that process.
The Celtics play considerably slower than the Sixers, but their half-court execution has been more efficient. Philadelphia will want to create turnovers and run before Boston can set its defense. The Celtics will attempt to control the pace, generate three-pointers and make the Sixers execute against a defense that has yet to allow an opposing player to score 30 points this season.
There is also the unavoidable Brown matchup. Boston could use Tatum, George and White against him at different points, giving the Celtics several defenders capable of absorbing his drives without immediately sending help.
Nick Nurse expects Brown to bring something extra, even if Brown has publicly downplayed the emotional component.
“It’s going to be very different for him,” Nurse said. “I think probably a little bit of emotion in there, too, but also I think he’s going to be very motivated to play.”
What the odds say
Boston’s rotation is healthy entering the matchup. Two-way guard Devin Carter is out because of an illness.
Dominick Barlow and Ariel Hukporti remain out for the Sixers. Adem Bona could return after missing Sunday’s contest.
The betting market views the matchup as essentially a toss-up. Monday afternoon listings had the spread moving between Boston minus-1.5 and Philadelphia minus-1.5, depending on the sportsbook, with the total at 215.5.
That fits the larger picture. Philadelphia owns the East’s best record. Boston has the conference’s strongest point differential and has outscored opponents by 10.7 points per game.
The surrounding conversation will center on Brown and Tatum until the opening tip. Brown does not intend to contribute any ceremonial small talk.
“He’s on his side,” Brown said. “I’m on my side.”
Then they will check the ball up.
Matthew Pouliot
D.J. Short
