Jaylen Brown wasn't going to leave Marcus Smart on an island with Joel Embiid after the two got tangled up just seconds into the second half of the Boston Celtics season-opening win Tuesday.
Brown rushed in to defend his teammate, getting in a heated exchange with Embiid and pointing a finger at the 76ers star big man while being held back as a bit of chaos ensued on the court.
Brown's actions were something Smart definitely would have done, and Brown being there for the Celtics guard in a tense moment wasn't lost on Smart.
"It shows the camaraderie that we have and how tight we are, especially with the things we've been through, me, Jaylen and Jayson with everything over the past couple years, from rumors and things like that," Smart told reporters prior to Friday's road matchup against the Miami Heat, as transcribed by MassLive's Brian Robb. "For him to do that and for us to be that it just shows we're in this together no matter what."
The run to the NBA Finals, and their failures on that elevated stage, seemed to have bonded the Celtics core group even closer now. Smart also referenced the common ground he and Brown have since their names have been thrown around in trade rumors over the years, especially this past summer with the rumor mill spewing out the Celtics were packaging Brown along with others for Kevin Durant.
But with all those trade scenarios falling through, Brown and Smart are now entering their seventh season together as teammates, and they clearly have one another's back.
"Embiid was getting away with a lot of unnecessary pushing and shoving," Brown said following Boston's 126-117 win over the 76ers. "Being a big guy, he was throwing his weight around a little bit. … It seemed like he was trying to hurt Smart in a sense, that's when my instincts (kicked in) and I started to come over.
"… We got each other's backs out there. We're not taking no mess this year."
