In a Boston game against the Philadelphia 76ers in which many thought would center on Jayson Tatum's first NBA matchup against Jaylen Brown, Paul George stole the show. When many thought Brown would get his revenge, it was, in fact, George who got his.
From the jump, George has proven he is not nearly as washed up as many thought. He's been a picture-perfect fit for both the Celtics and Mazzulla Ball as they could have hoped. More than that, though, he's doing something Brown never quite figured out in Boston: keeping the Celtics' strong play moving when Tatum was on the bench.
Take last night's game. When Tatum first subbed out at the beginning of the second quarter, Boston was up by seven. When he subbed back in with less than six minutes to go, they were up by 11. It only got better when he was subbed out to begin the fourth. Boston was up by nine when he subbed out, and when he subbed back in, they were up 23.
Did George single-handedly make it so? Of course not, but the synergy he provides for the Celtics allows them to sit comfortably when Tatum is, well, sitting. It not only helps Boston feel more comfortable resting Tatum, but it also helps conserve energy, which could pay off big time in the end.
This simply wasn't the case with Brown
Analytics have never been Brown's friend. His numbers have always been impressive, but the fact of the matter is that metrics have never indicated that Boston was a better team with Brown on the floor. Now, that does not mean that metrics didn't say that he made them worse when he was on the floor. Just that the team was better when he was off the floor.
Check the numbers for when they won the title in 2024. The Celtics' net rating with Brown on the floor was good (plus-8.7), but the team was still much better when he was off the floor (plus-16.7). Check out those same numbers when Brown peaked as a player. They were plus-6.5 when he was on the floor, but plus-10.6
What's the culprit? His positive net rating came from him and Tatum playing well together, but when Brown was tasked with running the show in lineups without Tatum, the team struggled more often than not. With George, that has not been the case. At least not to start.
The Celtics' net rating with George on the floor is plus-16.6 (excellent), and when he's off, it's plus-7.6 (still good). This is the opposite of Brown's impact. George won't put up the numbers he just did against the Sixers, but that won't matter. All that matters is that Boston is still a great all-around team when he's on the floor, even when Tatum isn't.
It further shows the vision Boston had when they made this trade. They didn't want a player who could put up consistently high numbers through high usage, but one who could keep the team afloat when Tatum needed a breather. George is that player, whereas Brown never was.
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