Boston Celtics supporters are known for expressing their opinions with abandon, and on Friday night, they did just that with regard to Dallas Mavericks player Kyrie Irving. The TD Garden crowd sent out a loud “Kyrie sucks!” chant late in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ 138-110 thumping of the Mavericks, demonstrating that there is still love between the two teams.

But Jaylen Brown would prefer that the Celtics supporters refrain from directing their intense outbursts of boos of the opposition towards Irving, their former star. Instead, Brown wants to see the TD Garden audience become even more of a fortress by maintaining that same enthusiasm regardless of the opponent.

“Fans, you know, they do what they do. Whatever reason for that, I think we should boo every star player that comes into our arena. I would like to see that. Maybe it has an effect, maybe it doesn’t. When Jokic and all these other players come in here, boo them too,” Brown said in his postgame presser, via Noa Dalzell of SB Nation’s Celtics Blog.

Naturally, during Kyrie Irving’s first game back at TD Garden as a Maverick, the Celtics supporters were even more enraged. Because of the way he left the team in 2019, Irving has a strained relationship with them. To make matters worse, in 2021, the divisive guard stepped on the center-court logo at TD Garden, which many fans saw as disrespectful and finds even more offensive coming from a former franchise face.

Jaylen Brown doesn’t want to offend the Celtics fan base, and it’s evident that he has a close relationship with Irving even after his departure from the team. He therefore gave a flawless response to the query. Arranging for the fans to jeer even the guys who haven’t precisely done anything to incite them would have been the best way for Brown to walk that tightrope and turn the tables. Will Brown’s call be answered by the Celtics supporters? Time will tell.