Jaylen Brown isn't planning to catch up with Jayson Tatum before Tuesday's game.

After Sunday's win in Chicago, Brown said the two haven't talked — and he has no intention of changing that before they face each other:

Just check the ball up.

Honestly, fair enough. Ten years in Boston and a summer trade to Philadelphia probably aren't getting unpacked during pregame layup lines.

Tatum's taking the quieter approach, too. He's called it another game on the schedule and another chance to win, which makes sense when you know every extra sentence is going to turn into its own headline.

The game should give us plenty to talk about anyway. Philadelphia's 9-2. Boston's 8-2. They're separated by half a game at the top of the East, and Brown's first game against his former team brings a pretty interesting basketball question with it:

Can Boston keep playing the way they have for most of the season when the guy who used to help finish their games is now trying to finish this one for somebody else?

We'll get our first answer Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Philly Finally Got Their Turn

You don’t need to go all the way back to Bird and Dr. J to understand why this one’s got some juice.

For most of the Embiid era, Boston was where Philadelphia’s playoff optimism went to die. The Sixers lost to the Celtics in 2018, got swept in 2020, and blew a 3-2 lead in 2023. Tatum’s 51-point Game 7 that year was like twisting the knife for Sixers' fans.

Then May happened.

Boston went up 3-1 in the first round, and Philadelphia ripped off the next three, closing it out 109-100 at TD Garden. Tatum missed Game 7 with a knee issue. Brown scored 33, but Embiid had 34 and Maxey added 30. For once, the Sixers were the ones walking out of Boston with another series to get ready for.

Two months later, Boston sent Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks.

Brad Stevens framed the move around flexibility and how tough it is to build under the new collective bargaining agreement when so much money’s tied up in two players. You can understand the financial argument and still think sending Brown to a division rival was one hell of a way to test it.

Tuesday won’t settle that trade. But it’ll give Boston their first real look at the immediate fallout.

Boston's Been Pretty Damn Good

The awkward part for anyone who was ready to throw dirt on the Celtics' grave this offseason is that they’ve opened the season looking very much alive.

Boston’s scoring 117.9 points per 100 possessions and allowing 106.3. That plus-11.6 gap leads the league. Philadelphia’s at plus-2.7, with a considerably less efficient offense. Those numbers make a stronger case for Boston than the half-game difference in the standings does.

There’s a small-sample warning attached, obviously. Charlotte and Milwaukee aren’t exactly measuring sticks right now. Still, Boston beat them by a combined 59 points over their last two games, and there’s something to be said for making bad teams look bad.

Tatum’s averaging 27.1 points and 7.8 assists. That second number matters here. Boston needs him creating shots all over the floor, especially against a Philadelphia lineup with enough size to make his own attempts tougher.

If Brown gets possessions guarding him, there’ll be an understandable temptation to see who can go get a bucket. I’d rather see Tatum make Brown work through a screen, force the defense to help, and find the guy that help left open. Familiarity doesn’t mean a defense gets to skip steps.

George has also given Boston considerably more than a big name on an expensive contract. He’s averaging 20.4 points and shooting 42.5% from three.

He had 27 points with five threes in Sunday’s 117-97 win at Milwaukee. Boston made 18 threes as a team and only committed 10 turnovers. That’s a pretty good version of what they want Tuesday: enough shooting to stretch Philadelphia out, and enough control to avoid handing Maxey easy chances the other way.

George deserves some attention of his own in this reunion, too. Philly can’t spend the whole night loading up on Tatum, just hoping the other former teammate stays quiet.

Four Stars Still Have to Share the Floor

Maxey’s averaging 26.9 points. Brown’s at 22.3. Add LeBron James and Embiid, and you’d think finding a good shot would be the easiest part of Nick Nurse’s job.

It isn’t.

There’s a difference between having four guys who can create something and having four guys whose movement helps everybody else create something, too.

Friday’s loss to Cleveland put that problem on full display. Embiid went 0-for-9, and afterward Nurse described the offense as “one action and stand.” Embiid said things felt crowded, with too many possessions ending in jumpers.

That’s the version Boston wants to see: somebody dribbles into a tough shot while three very talented teammates watch.

They're a completely different team when they give Brown something useful to do before the ball gets to him. He’s been really good at finding cuts when Embiid has the ball around the midrange. That forces Brown’s defender to choose between bothering Embiid and following a strong finisher toward the basket.

Those are the possessions I’d want early Tuesday. Get Brown moving, let him feel the game, and give Boston more to deal with than the feeling that he’s about to take somebody on one-on-one.

Maxey’s speed is the other obvious pressure point. Derrick White’s work starts well before Maxey gets into shooting range. If Boston can slow down that first move and keep their bigs from having to cover two threats at once, the Sixers will have to try something else.

LeBron can help with that. Sunday’s 22-point game in Chicago was his highest-scoring outing as a Sixer, and he picked his spots after opening the game looking to set up his teammates. Philadelphia needs that judgment right alongside the scoring.

Embiid is still the biggest variable. He’s managing a right foot issue, though he played nearly 29 minutes Sunday. His jumper’s been a struggle, and he missed both of his three-point attempts in Chicago after entering the game 3-for-28 on the season.

If he’s out there, getting him catches closer to the basket would help. Boston should make him prove the jumper’s there before giving up the paint out of respect for what he’s done in the past.

So, Who Wins?

I'm taking Boston in a close one.

Philadelphia deserves credit for the way they've been finishing games, and playing at home gives Brown a crowd that's going to be fully invested. If Embiid plays, the Sixers have more than enough to make this pick look pretty foolish.

But Boston's been the better team over the course of a full game. I trust their shooting, and I trust Tatum to create enough good looks to give the Celtics the edge.

The emotions are what really push me over the top here, though. On a normal day, with no extra motivation attached, I might lean Philly. But the entire Celtics organization is going to be locked in for this one, and I think that matters.

Either way, keep an eye on Brown when that second defender comes over.

Boston knows what he can do with the ball. Tuesday might come down to what he does next.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com.

Want more NBA coverage? Head to Sports Pass for the latest. And for more stories that keep you informed and entertained, YourLifeBuzz has you covered.