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By Bryan Colbert Jr.
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Jaylen Brown spent nine seasons alongside Jayson Tatum in Boston.
When the two meet in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Brown plans to skip the pregame conversation. He had four words for what he’d rather do.
“Check the ball up.”
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The question came Sunday in Chicago, where Brown had just scored 29 points in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 127-121 win over the Bulls.
When Brown was asked whether he had spoken to Tatum since Boston traded him in July, or planned to speak to him before Tuesday’s game, he said he had done neither and saw little reason to change that.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Brown said. “I mean, he’s on his side, I’m on my side, playing basketball.” Both players, Brown added, were trying to win.
Brown was less certain about how he would feel once he stepped on the floor.
The Sixers and Celtics played twice in the preseason, and Brown greeted former teammates when Boston visited Philadelphia on Oct. 16.
When asked whether those games would make Tuesday any easier, he said he would have to see how he felt when he got out there.
There’s a reason the first regular-season meeting carries more weight.
Brown and Tatum reached two NBA Finals together and won the 2024 championship, with Brown earning Finals MVP honors.
Their last playoff run together ended in the first round against Philadelphia.
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In July, the Celtics sent Brown to the team that eliminated them for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-rounders.
The trade also put Tyrese Maxey on the other side of a familiar rivalry.
When asked Sunday what he expected from the Philadelphia crowd, Maxey smiled and joked that the building would be quiet.
It was an easier prediction to make with a straight face back in October.
At 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Celtics and Sixers play for the first time since the trade with a win in the standings at stake.
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