Tale of the tape: Jaylen Brown faces the Celtics as the East's top two meet

The two best teams in the Eastern Conference meet tonight in Philadelphia, and Jaylen Brown is wearing the other jersey. The 76ers (9-2, first in the East) host the Celtics (8-2, second) at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock at Xfinity Mobile Arena. It is Brown's first game against Boston since the Celtics traded him to Philadelphia this offseason, and Paul George also faces his former team.

Tale of the tape

| | Celtics | 76ers | |---|---|---| | Record | 8-2 (3-2 road) | 9-2 (4-1 home) | | Points per game | 115.0 | 111.0 | | Points allowed | 104.3 | 107.9 | | 3-point % | 38 | 34 | | Rebounds per game | 45.0 | 43.4 | | Scoring leader | Jayson Tatum, 27.1 | Tyrese Maxey, 26.9 | | Streak | Won 3 | Won 1 |

Numbers are from ESPN's game page. Tatum also leads Boston at 7.8 assists. LeBron James leads Philadelphia at 6.7 assists, and Joel Embiid leads it at 9.7 rebounds.

The Brown and Tatum story

ESPN's Kris Rhim laid out how the split happened. Per a source in that piece, Boston first tried to send Brown to Milwaukee in a Giannis Antetokounmpo deal while Brown was on vacation, then traded him to Philadelphia without giving him a say in where he went. Brown and Tatum didn't acknowledge each other at an Oct. 10 preseason game in Boston, and Brown has said he has no plans to talk it out. "There's nothing to talk about," Brown said Sunday. "Just check the ball up."

What else is on the line

Boston has been the better team on paper. The NBA says the Celtics rank fifth in offensive rating, fourth in defensive rating and first in net rating at plus-11.6, and a win moves them to No. 1 in the East. Philadelphia has won close games. The league says the Sixers are 8-0 in crunch time during their best 11-game start since 2000-01.

There's a milestone watch too. NBA Communications says James needs 16 assists to pass Jason Kidd (12,091) for third on the career list.

Why it matters

DraftKings, via ESPN, has Boston as a 1.5-point road favorite with a 217.5 total, and ESPN's predictor leans Philadelphia at 52%. Philadelphia is without Adem Bona, Dominick Barlow and Ariel Hukporti. The league notes it's only the fourth time since 1986-87 that these teams have met as the East's top two. This is a November game with a real standings swing and the first chapter of a rivalry that changed sides.