BSJ Live Coverage: Celtics at 76ers 8:00 p.m. - The moment we've all been waiting for

BOSTON CELTICS at PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, Pa.

Game time: 8:00 p.m.

TV: Peacock, NBC

Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub

Celtics injury report:

• Devin Carter - OUT (G League, two-way)
• Chris Cenac Jr. - QUESTIONABLE (G League, on assignment)
• Dillon Mitchell - QUESTIONABLE (G League, two-way)
• Amari Williams - OUT (G League, two-way)

76ers injury report:

• Dominick Barlow - OUT (low back stress reaction)
• Adem Bona - OUT (cervical spine sprain)
• Ariel Hukporti - OUT (right Achilles tendon rupture/tear)

Preview: Lights, camera, action. This is the most hyped-up game of the Boston Celtics' season so far. It may be the most anticipated game on the schedule.

Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers. For the first time ever, Jayson Tatum vs. Jaylen Brown. LeBron James vs. the Celtics. The No. 1 seed in the East vs. the No. 2 seed. Tuesday night will have it all.

Boston has begun its season 8-2. The Sixers are 9-2. It's not only a playoff rematch from last season, but also a potential playoff preview involving two of the best teams in the conference.

Last season: It's no secret how last year went down. The Celtics took a commanding 3-1 series lead over the 76ers in the first round, then they threw it away.

Paul George, now in green, was dominant. Joel Embiid proved too much for the Celtics' big man rotation. Fouls, missed shots, and turnovers cost the Celtics the series.

Now, there's a whole new aura around the matchup. Because over the summer, everything changed.

Shootaround sound: When the Brown trade rumors were swirling this summer, it was shocking. When the news came that Boston had traded Brown, it was a bombshell. When the trade destination was revealed as Philadelphia, it was unfathomable.

To this day, parts of the trade still are. Why not wait until the value improved? Why make the trade so early in the summer? Why trade him to Philadelphia?

But it's hard to argue with the immediate results. George has been incredible. A true two-way force. The first matchup between the two sides will certainly carry some weight. But George and the Celtics want to treat it as a normal night. 

"It's just a regular game," George said at shootaround on Monday morning. "A regular game. That's how I'm treating it. Obviously, it'll be fun to play against those guys and compete against them, but it's a regular game for me."

Brown was a Celtic for 10 years. The first 10 years of his career. Five All-Star appearances. Two All-NBA appearances. An NBA Championship. A Finals MVP.

He'll go down as one of the greatest Celtics of all time. And throughout his time in Boston, he made plenty of great relationships.

"Definitely had a lot of good memories with JB," Payton Pritchard said. "Obviously, he was there from the moment I got drafted. So, we had a good competitive battle. He pushed me to get better, so I'm definitely appreciative of that. And then, as far as tonight, two really great teams going at it, and there's nothing better than that."

But no relationship has been analyzed quite like the relationship between Brown and Tatum. Feature-length articles. Countless questions. Beef and lamb chops.

The storyline has persisted throughout the entire year thus far, and understandably so. The Brown trade was one of the biggest in Celtics history.

So, as soon as Brown commented "cap" on Tatum's side of the story, all hell was bound to break loose. Now, it seems that all there's left to do is settle things on the court. But Tatum isn't letting the emotions seep in.

"JT, he's locked in," George said. "He's as professional as they come, preparing for a game. He's been playing at an MVP level, and I think he's looking at it as another game on the schedule. Obviously, there's a lot of noise surrounding it that hopefully he's not lost in it. But it's our job to support him, to help him through it, and make sure his focus is where it needs to be for us to come out here and have a chance to play against a really good team and continue to add to his MVP performance resume this season."

As for George, his return to Philadelphia is the subplot. A secondary story hidden amidst the noise of Tatum vs. Brown.

He was only in Philadelphia for two seasons, and they weren't exactly glorious. He appeared in 41 games his first season and just 37 last year. Injuries riddled his time with the Sixers, so his return isn't quite as emotionally charged.

"Had I been here eight, nine, 10 years, different story," George said. "I was here two years. Obviously, we didn't have the best of luck, or we had a great partnership, in terms of my ability to stay healthy and on the floor. So, that kind of played into a lot of it. But obviously, it's a tremendous fan base, a great sports town to play in, so that was appreciated. But there's no ill will for me. It'll be, again, fun to just compete. And outside of that, it's a normal game."

Emotions are inevitable. That's the case with all aspects of life. You can never control how the person next to you feels, nor how they react to that feeling.

In earlier stages of basketball -- high school, AAU, college, etc. -- navigating those relationships is a bit easier. Everyone is at the same stage of life. Working toward the same goal. But once you get to the NBA, that fades away.

"Yeah, it's different. There's a lot of egos in it, and people need an ego to make it to get to the NBA," Pritchard said. "And so, it's a balancing act. And in high school, like you said, it's all your buddies. You're playing. Not to say that we're not all buddies, but everybody's got families, they're trying to make it, they got things to prove, so it's different. But at the end of the day, I don't think there was ever beef or anything. I think it's working relationships. Some people are closer than others, but find a way to win and  keep going."

So, it's up to the players to create the necessary relationships to thrive. To bond on and off the court. That's what the Celtics have been focused on this season.

"Every year, it's different," Pritchard said. "You got to find a way to connect with your teammates off-court and on-court. We're 10 games in, and I think we're doing a great job. But like I said, it's the beginning of the season. You want to be flowing and gelling at a high level once we get closer to the end, and so, this is good steps along the way, and then hopefully we get better."

Quick stats: Philadelphia has gotten off to one of the hottest starts in basketball. Its 9-2 record only trails the 10-2 Los Angeles Lakers (and is tied with the 9-2 San Antonio Spurs).

The Sixers have been getting it done on the defensive end. Their defensive rating (107.6) is sixth in the league, while their offensive rating (110.3) ranks just 20th.

Tyrese Maxey has been the star of the show. He's averaging 26.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists while shooting 48.1% from the field and 34.1% from deep on 7.5 3-pointers a night.

Brown is right behind him, putting up 22.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. He's shooting 47.7% from the floor and 39.2% from distance on 5.1 3-point attempts per contest.

Joel Embiid is averaging 17.9 points and 9.7 rebounds. James is giving Philadelphia 15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.7 assists. VJ Edgecombe is putting up 13.2 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Those five guys -- the Sixers' starters -- have been dominant this year. And guys like Anfernee Simons and Dean Wade have been quality bench contributors.