How Celtics’ Paul George spoiling Jaylen Brown’s revenge game is a big win for Brad Stevens

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Boston Celtics veteran Paul George drew first blood against his former team, scoring a season-high 36 points in a 123-101 blowout win over the Philadelphia 76ers, who traded with Brad Stevens for Jaylen Brown this summer. It was the biggest storyline in the NBA. Amid the hoopla around the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and 76ers’ Brown squaring off for the first time, George reminded fans of the player sent to Boston in exchange for Jaylen.

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The veteran that Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens saw as a better fit for his team, on the court and on his spreadsheet. George was part of one of the most shocking trades in recent NBA history, as the Celtics split their star tandem after nearly a decade of one of the franchise’s most successful eras.

In nine years, Tatum and Brown led the Celtics to five Eastern Conference Finals appearances, two NBA Finals berths, and, most importantly, a 2024 championship that ended a 16-year drought. After failing to make a deep playoff run in back-to-back years, including a first-round exit against the 76ers, Stevens pulled the trigger on trading Brown for George and a package of draft picks during the offseason.

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The NBA world and Celtics fans alike quickly pointed to the dynamic of Tatum and Brown’s relationship as a contributing factor. Despite Brown coming off the best season of his career, and doing it without Tatum, Stevens saw it as the ideal time to part ways, especially after another failed run to return to the NBA Finals, where Boston hasn’t come close to reaching since its last title.

Financially, the move made sense for the Celtics’ bottom line, as George entered the third year of a four-year, $211.5 million contract, worth $54.1 million, with a player option for the 2027-28 season. Brown, meanwhile, is in the third year of a five-year, $285.3 million contract with no option attached to the backend, and the deal won’t expire until 2029.

George undoubtedly gives the Celtics optionality without the restrictions that come with two players taking up 70 percent of the cap. However, that same optionality applies to what the Celtics get on the basketball court. That’s where George went 14-for-22, including six threes against his former team Tuesday night. He also finished with five rebounds and one assist as Boston cruised to its ninth regular-season win.

While most envisioned Celtics veterans such as Derrick White and Payton Pritchard filling the void left by Brown’s absence offensively, George has taken matters into his own hands so far. He’s averaging 22.0 points on impressive 48.8/44.0/82.1 shooting splits, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. Paul’s career has been rejuvenated since his trade to the Celtics.

With a clean slate of health, George reminded fans of the injury setbacks that plagued his two seasons with the 76ers and how what we’re seeing in the early stages of the regular season is a byproduct of his health.

“That was the biggest challenge, the biggest hurdle my first two years I was here in Philly. And then what I’ve learned is I’m a little bit better with more usage,” George said. “And that’s no knock to how my opportunities here with Philly. Quite frankly, I wasn’t healthy to take on the workload that I feel I’m at my best at. Here in Boston, they gave me an opportunity to come out here, play, and be myself. Joe [Mazzulla] has integrated me right into the offense and allowed me to just be myself.”

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was forced to delete his Instagram account after his trade for Paul George. That’s how bad the comments and messages from Celtics fans got, frustrated at watching their team trade away Brown for an aging George. But Boston’s early success is what Stevens envisioned for the long term of the 2026-27 season.

George has only missed one game for the Celtics so far. Boston improved to 9-2, sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings and second-best in the NBA.

Is Paul George a better fit for Jayson Tatum, Celtics?

It’s still early in the 2026-27 season. However, that didn’t stop one analyst from saying Paul George’s fit with the Celtics is better than Jaylen Brown’s. George alongside Tatum beats the eye test compared to Brown, and it’s showing in the box score and, of course, in the Eastern Conference standings for a Celtics team that now has the best record, as Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor noted after Tuesday’s win.

“Paul George is a better fit next to Jayson Tatum than Jaylen Brown ever was. I know, it’s soon. I know Tatum and Brown won a Finals together. But I feel the synergy between these two guys early this season, with Paul George averaging 20 on elite efficiency, elite three-point volume, the connective passing from him as well, and the ability to be an initiator,” said O’Connor on his podcast.

“It just feels like these two guys, they just gel. It feels natural to me. So even if George isn’t as great in a vacuum as Jaylen Brown is, I feel like this is a better fit. These guys actually fit.”

The Celtics will face the Raptors on the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday.

Related: Attention-grabbing stat proves Celtics’ Jayson Tatum didn’t duck 76ers’ Jaylen Brown

Related: Celtics’ Paul George explains why he flipped off fan in Philadelphia

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