Jaylen Brown and Paul George had two different demeanors going into the Philadelphia 76ers-Boston Celtics battle on Tuesday night in South Philly.
Brown was his usual stoic self, but reports suggested that he was approaching the game like it was time for war. As for Paul George, he was loose and said that he was approaching the matchup as just another game. It was hard not to believe him.
George didn't leave the Sixers on an awkward note. After spending two years with the team--mostly battling injuries--all parties simply accepted that it didn't work out. They moved on. Chapter's closed. Brown's situation was different. After 10 years, the Celtics traded him following his best personal season. He didn't expect to end up on a division rival.
Back in September, Brown didn't say he had the Celtics game circled on his calendar. He simply said that all of them are circled, but some are doubled. We can figure out what he meant by that. Clearly, there is some animosity against Jayson Tatum. Brown wouldn't acknowledge him before the game.
Emotions got the best of Brown
He wouldn't admit it, but there had to be a lot of emotions going into Tuesday's game against the Celtics for Brown. Everybody can understand why. Unfortunately, whatever Brown was feeling, it wasn't channeled in a positive way to help the Sixers out.
Brown wasn't to blame for the 76ers' blowout loss against Paul George and the Celtics, but he contributed just like everybody else. The first installment of a revenge game for Brown looked like 13 points, five rebounds, two steals, and one block. Underwhelming at best.
The star forward stated that "early foul trouble" derailed his progress early on. Once he lost it, that was it. Brown finished the game with four fouls, but he picked up three of them within the first half. While the Sixers' starting five all clocked in for at least 14 minutes of action during the second half, Brown was under 10 minutes. Aggressiveness was lacking, and he was a -12 during that time.
For a guy who claimed to be free of emotion going into the game, he clearly let frustration get the best of him early, and it never allowed him to get back into the game. That simply can't happen for the Sixers, who clearly need Brown's scoring power, especially while the offense is already struggling.
At least the first Brown-Celtics meeting is out of the way. The next one in January will be big since it's set in Boston, but that will be more than enough time for Brown to shake off whatever emotions, frustrations, etc. came from this game.
Thursday's game against the Toronto Raptors will be a good opportunity for Brown to shake that frustration off and get back to basics with the team.
Add us as a preferred source on Google