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  4. title => "Jaylen Brown: Al Horford 'should be celebrated' in his return to Boston with 76ers"
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  6. article_body => "<p>INDIANAPOLIS -- Jaylen Brown has been around the Celtics fan base long enough to know that they can be hard on former C's who return with their new teams.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Or in the case of Kyrie Irving, whose new team (the Brooklyn Nets) showed up to the TD Garden while he stayed in Brooklyn because of a shoulder injury, Celtics fans will boo the hell out of you even if you're not in the building.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/boston\/celtics\/celtics-pacers-takeaways-kemba-walkers-hot-gordon-haywards-hurt-again?int\" target=\"_blank\">Celtics-Pacers Takeaways: Kemba's hot, Hayward's hurt (again)<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Brown has no idea how they are going to react to ex-Celtic Al Horford returning for the first time with the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Still, he has a pretty good idea of what that moment will be like for him when Horford is introduced with the Philly starters.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe should be celebrated,\u201d Brown said. \u201cBoston fans, they're gonna do what they want, right? Al came here, contributed, took this team the farthest it\u2019s been since \u201808 [NBA champions]. Al served his time well here.\"<\/p>\n<p>Brown added, \u201cFor me, he was a great leader, a great person\u2026 I know I\u2019ll clap for him when they call his name. That\u2019s just me.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/boston\/celtics\/latest-health-concern-celtics-gordon-hayward?int\" target=\"_blank\">And the latest health concern for Gordon Hayward is...<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In his three seasons with the Celtics, Boston won 63.8 percent of their games with Horford on the roster in addition to advancing to the playoffs each season, which included consecutive trips (2017 and 2018) to the Eastern Conference finals.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/link.chtbl.com\/RJkwuSSg\" target=\"_blank\">MORE ON HORFORD'S RETURN IN THE CELTICS TALK PODCAST, LISTEN&nbsp;HERE:<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/art19.com\/shows\/celtics-talk\/episodes\/41114336-6cd0-4973-92cb-750e53adcfa8\/embed\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px; border: 0 none;\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe> \n<p>In 208 regular-season games with the Celtics, Horford averaged 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Semi Ojeleye echoed similar sentiments about Horford.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust a great guy, a great man, a great leader,\u201d Ojeleye told NBC Sports Boston earlier. \u201cAll of us young guys who are still here, we learned a lot from our time around Al.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, Brown added, don\u2019t get it twisted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He and his teammates from last season have lots of love for Al, before and after the game.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But when the ball goes up and the game starts? That\u2019s another matter entirely.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery time I see Al, that\u2019s my guy,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to it, say hello before the game. But while we on the court\u2026 don\u2019t talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/boston\/celtics\/celtics-pacers-instant-overreactions-marcus-smarts-absence-difference-maker-cs-loss?int\" target=\"_blank\">Celtics-Pacers Overreactions: Smart's absence felt in loss&gt;&gt;&gt;<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Don't miss NBC Sports Boston's coverage of&nbsp;Celtics-76ers, which tips off Thursday at 7&nbsp;p.m.&nbsp;with Celtics Pregame Live, and then Mike &amp; Tommy&nbsp;have the call at 8&nbsp;p.m.&nbsp;You can also&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/stream.nbcsports.com\/rsn\/nba-celtics-live-stream?utm_tags=nbcsbos1937\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" tabindex=\"-1\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"http:\/\/stream.nbcsports.com\/rsn\/nba-celtics-live-stream?utm_tags=nbcsbos1937\">stream the game&nbsp;<\/a>on&nbsp;the MyTeams App.<\/em><\/p>\n"
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Celtics

Celtics

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jaylen Brown has been around the Celtics fan base long enough to know that they can be hard on former C's who return with their new teams. 

Or in the case of Kyrie Irving, whose new team (the Brooklyn Nets) showed up to the TD Garden while he stayed in Brooklyn because of a shoulder injury, Celtics fans will boo the hell out of you even if you're not in the building.

Brown has no idea how they are going to react to ex-Celtic Al Horford returning for the first time with the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night. 

Still, he has a pretty good idea of what that moment will be like for him when Horford is introduced with the Philly starters. 

“He should be celebrated,” Brown said. “Boston fans, they're gonna do what they want, right? Al came here, contributed, took this team the farthest it’s been since ‘08 [NBA champions]. Al served his time well here."

Brown added, “For me, he was a great leader, a great person… I know I’ll clap for him when they call his name. That’s just me.”

In his three seasons with the Celtics, Boston won 63.8 percent of their games with Horford on the roster in addition to advancing to the playoffs each season, which included consecutive trips (2017 and 2018) to the Eastern Conference finals. 

MORE ON HORFORD'S RETURN IN THE CELTICS TALK PODCAST, LISTEN HERE:

 

In 208 regular-season games with the Celtics, Horford averaged 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists. 

Semi Ojeleye echoed similar sentiments about Horford. 

“Just a great guy, a great man, a great leader,” Ojeleye told NBC Sports Boston earlier. “All of us young guys who are still here, we learned a lot from our time around Al.”

Still, Brown added, don’t get it twisted. 

He and his teammates from last season have lots of love for Al, before and after the game. 

But when the ball goes up and the game starts? That’s another matter entirely. 

“Every time I see Al, that’s my guy,” Brown said. “I’m looking forward to it, say hello before the game. But while we on the court… don’t talk to me.”

Don't miss NBC Sports Boston's coverage of Celtics-76ers, which tips off Thursday at 7 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live, and then Mike & Tommy have the call at 8 p.m. You can also stream the game on the MyTeams App.