Perhaps lost amid all the hoopla surrounding the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown feud is the fact that Tuesday night’s matchup between the Celtics and 76ers in Philadelphia features two of the top teams in the league.
The 76ers enter tonight’s showdown at 9-2, a ½ game ahead of the Celtics for the best record in the Eastern Conference.
But it’s clear that Tatum and Brown will be center stage as they meet for the first time as opponents after nine seasons as teammates in Boston.
Brown has at times taken digs at Taum since the season began, while also seemingly downplaying the matchup.
“We’ll see how I feel when we get out there, but as of now, I got no emotion towards anything,” Brown said. “So, I’m just ready to go.”
For his part, Tatum seems ready to move on.
“For me, it’s like I don’t have any animosity or beef or ill will towards him,” Tatum said recently. “And I think the frustrating part is since he’s not with the Celtics anymore, the narrative or conversations haven’t been enough about what we’ve accomplished, all the games we won, winning a championship, how we’ve grown together. And it’s turned into this drama type of thing.”
Here is a preview.
When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia
TV: NBC, NBCSB, Peacock. Radio: WBZ-FM 98.5.
Line: Boston -1.5. O/U: 218.5.
CELTICS
Season record: 8-2. vs. spread: 5-4, 1 push. Over/under: 3-6, 1 push
Last 10 games: 8-2. vs. spread: 5-4, 1 push. Over/under: 3-6, 1 push
76ERS
Season record: 9-2. vs. spread: 6-5. Over/under: 3-8
Last 10 games: 8-2. vs. spread: 5-5. Over/under: 3-7
TEAM STATISTICS
Points per game: Boston 115.0, Philadelphia 111.0
Points allowed per game: Boston 104.3, Philadelphia 107.9
Field goal percentage: Boston .454, Philadelphia .446
Opponent field goal percentage: Boston .423, Philadelphia .445
3-point percentage: Boston .376, Philadelphia .340
Opponent 3-point percentage: Boston .338, Philadelphia .316
Stat of the day: Paul George, acquired by the Celtics in the Brown trade, is averaging 20.4 points while shooting 42.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Notes: George made five 3-pointers and led the team with 27 points in Sunday’s win against the Bucks in Milwaukee. …Tatum is shooting 40 percent, but his scoring average of 27.1 points per game is the second-highest of his career. He had 21 points on 6-of-19 shooting in the win over the Bucks. … Brown is averaging 22.3 points — second on the team — and has increased that total to 26.0 points over his last four games. … This is the first of back-to-back games for the Celtics. They’ll head to Toronto to take on the Raptors on Wednesday, then will be off until hosting the Mavericks on Sunday.
Follow Andrew Mahoney @GlobeMahoney.