The 76ers keep rolling, and Jaylen Brown is making sure nobody turns a short quote from Jayson Tatum into some grand rivalry story.
Philadelphia is 3-0 after its October 24 win over the Knicks, and Brown’s team is already looking ahead to a November 10 trip to Boston to face Tatum and the Celtics. Tatum had said there was “no beef” between the two, and Brown responded by laying it out in his own way.
“I didn't see the full thing, but I saw that he saw, it's ‘no beef,' and he's right, you know, Jayson comes from a great family, we've accomplished some great things, he's a great basketball player, got a hell of a PR team, there's no beef, but it might be a little lamb chops and some gravy, we gotta stay ready at all times.
“No beef, it should never, ever be that, it's just basketball, we both blessed,” Brown continued. “We both got so much stuff in front of us.”
While that sits in the background, the 76ers have business right in front of them. They host Cade Cunningham and the Pistons on October 25 in Philadelphia, one day after Tyrese Maxey poured in 28 points in a 106-100 road win over the New York Knicks.
Maxey’s strong start has come amid a public back-and-forth with Stephen A. Smith over comments Smith made about Maxey’s time under former coach Doc Rivers, which has added another layer of noise around the team.
Even with that, Nick Nurse’s group is off to an undefeated start and putting the pieces together earlier than plenty of people expected. Against JB Bickerstaff’s Pistons on Sunday, the 76ers will try to keep that momentum going and keep pushing away from the pack.
In Other News...
Sixers Loss Exposed An Early Problem Fans Can't Ignore
The Sixers first loss of the season arrived in a game that exposed some early wrinkles worth watching. Philadelphia fell to the Pistons, 106-93, after opening with three straight wins, and the missing starters were felt in a performance that lacked the usual balance. The rebounding edge slipped away, and the offense never found enough rhythm to keep pace.
Philadelphia still had one area working in its favor, as the team continued to pressure opponents into turnovers and maintain a positive turnover differential. But the wider concerns were harder to miss, especially the cold night from three-point range, where the Sixers hit only 26 percent. Early in the season, that kind of uneven showing is manageable - but it also serves as a reminder of how quickly the margin for error can shrink. [Read more 🡒]
Kelly Oubre Is Giving Sixers Fans A Familiar Feeling In Indiana
Kelly Oubre Jr. is off to a rough start with the Indiana Pacers after signing a two-year deal, and the early returns have looked awfully familiar to anyone who watched him in Philadelphia. Through his first two games, Oubre has been struggling to find a rhythm, producing modest numbers while shooting poorly from both the field and beyond the arc.
For Sixers fans, the frustration probably feels recognizable because the outside shot was always part of the story during his three seasons in Philadelphia. Oubres value in Indiana will hinge on whether he can stabilize that part of his game, because if the three-point shooting stays cold, the fit and his role with the Pacers could start to shrink fast. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers First Loss Exposed An Early Concern Fans Cant Ignore
The first loss of the season arrived with a familiar kind of concern for the Sixers, one that has hovered around the roster whenever the injury report starts to thicken. Philadelphia fell 106-93 to Detroit at Xfinity Mobile Arena, and Tyrese Maxey did what he could with 29 points despite foul trouble, but the night still underscored how much the margin shrinks when key pieces are missing.
Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe and Jabari Walker were all unavailable, leaving Philadelphia short-handed against a Pistons team that kept rolling behind Cade Cunninghams 26 points. Detroit moved to 3-0 with the win, while the Sixers were left with a reminder that even early in the season, availability can shape the ceiling of this group as much as talent does. [Read more 🡒]