MIAMI — Jaylen Brown reached Joel Embiid first after the big man and Marcus Smart got wrapped up, falling to the floor in a scuffle after halftime between the Celtics and 76ers on opening night. Brown grabbed Embiid as he rose to his feet, getting in his face and sharing some words before James Harden and others arrived to separate the pair. Then, Brown pointed at Embiid from along the sideline.
The Celtics had grown frustrated with Embiid’s pushing and shoving, but Brown most importantly wanted to set a tone that the team couldn’t be messed with. Draymond Green called Brown out for their own NBA spat, believing he stole Brown’s heart in that moment as the Warriors went on to win Game 2 and three of the final four games in the Finals. Smart appreciated Brown’s support and, while he toned hostilities down with Embiid at Friday’s shootaround, reflected on how far he and Brown have come as teammates.
“It just shows the camaraderie we have and how tight we are, especially the things that we’ve been through, me, Jaylen and Jayson, with everything over the past couple of years,” Smart said. “Rumors and things like that, so for him to do that and for us to be that, it shows that we’re in this together no matter what. We understand that we’re not perfect and it’s never going to be a perfect situation for us, but as long as we go out there and have each other’s back, everybody wins and everything will be alright. That’s what we’re preaching, that’s what we’re practicing and that’s what we hold ourselves on, holding each other accountable and having each other’s back.”
Smart discussed the Brown trade rumors with CLNS Media over the summer, emphasizing that Brown handled the saga great and that the star should take his inclusion in those reports as a compliment. Smart previously spoke misnomers regarding their relationship at the Finals, particularly stemming from the locker room blowup reportedly centered between the two in the Bubble during the 2020 east finals.
Miami took that series, 4-2, before the Celtics got revenge in seven games last spring in a tense east finals that came down to the final moments of Game 7 due to offensive stagnancy the team looks like they’ve address in the early portion of camp. Grant Williams emphasized that for all the good vibes and progress early under interim head coach Joe Mazzulla, they’ll learn about themselves during downturns.
“Instincts just came right over,” Brown said of the scuffle on Tuesday. “Ended up being nothing, ended up being a play-on, nobody got hurt. We just ended up finishing the game, played some good basketball. But we got each other’s backs out there and we’re taking no mess this year.”
Smart agreed, saying that if the whistle hadn’t blown the play dead that their dustup pursuing the ball would’ve led to no call in either direction. He expressed frustration over being the only one to receive a technical foul call, noting his defensive player of the year status, and asserted his maturity in not reacting physically to Embiid. On Friday, he spoke admirably about his 76ers rival and even laughed off a Thursday Shaqtin’ A Fool appearance.
Boston locked in and withstood multiple second half Philadelphia runs after extending a lead to double digits in the moments after the altercation. Al Horford gathered to the group and stressed focusing on what they can control, while Mazzulla got into the team multiple times along the sidelines. The Celtics had established that collective accountability last season, allowing anyone to call out anyone for something they see, and carried it forward.
Brown and Jayson Tatum, owning larger shares of the leadership hierarchy in Ime Udoka’s absence, reportedly asked to include Smart in the Sports Illustrated cover shoot while Tatum talked up the guard’s DPOY status after the win over Philadelphia on Tuesday. It all reflected a willingness to say and do the little things to mesh and maintain chemistry within Boston’s locker room. Another step for this young group aging into expectations.
“The thing I love is we’re all super competitive,” Tatum said on Tuesday. “We got the reigning defensive player of the year, Rob (Williams) was Second Team All-Defense, Al has been one of the best defenders in the league for a long time. Myself, JB trying to get on those All-Defensive teams. We take pride in that.”
