Chapter 1 is in the books. In the post-trade environment that has developed since the Boston Celtics made the controversial decision to move on from Jaylen Brown in the big blockbuster deal of this NBA summer, anticipation has been building about how things would play out when the revamped Sixers faced off against Boston, and we finally got a glimpse on Tuesday night in Philadelphia. The matchup had some extra spice because of the back-and-forth versions of how things fell apart between Brown and Celtics star Jayson Tatum, with the tension between the two obvious and out in the open. But on the floor, the first results were decisive.
The Celtics won pulling away in the fourth quarter, 123-101, with Tatum logging 21 points, six rebounds and four assists and Brown dealing with foul trouble that limited him to 13 points in 26 minutes. Paul George, with 36 points, outplayed everybody.
Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla: ‘Where Can We Learn’ From Jaylen Brown Trade?
But Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, amid the hoopla of the evening, was met with a question that got a thoughtful answer. In trading a guy who had become something of a franchise icon in Boston, as Brown had done, how much introspection over what went wrong did the Celtics do in the time after the deal?
Mazzulla said the Celtics do that after every trade they make, and that included Anfernee Simons, the Sixers guard who was with the Celtics last year.
From the coach: “I think any time you go through a trade, no matter who it is, I think it is important that the staff, front office, organizationally, you say, ‘OK, where can we learn from this?’
“So, I think that naturally has to be the case, no matter if it is someone of the caliber of Jaylen Brown or if it is somebody—we had another guy (Anfernee Simons) that we traded away and was very good for us and did a lot of great things for us up to that point last year. I think you would be remiss if you did not say, ‘OK where can we learn from this and where can we get better?’ We try to do this as much as you can.”
‘He Had a Tough Night’
As for Brown, facing his old Celtics team was not the best time to have one of the worst games of his young Sixers career. In addition to the low scoring and the four fouls, he had four turnovers, too, and his penchant for turnovers was one of the reasons the Celtics moved on from him.
Said coach Nick Nurse: “He had a tough night. Really started for him in the beginning, there, getting in foul trouble. Right from the start, then he gets another in the second half, so he really had no chance to get going, so that made it tough.
“They did a pretty good job of swarming him and sending multiple defenders, and I really think that, especially in the first half, we were generating really good shots out of their swarming defense. We were slinging it out to wide, wide open guys and we did not hit enough to keep pace.”
Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla Makes Admission on Jaylen Brown Trade