SI:AM | Joel Embiid’s High Praise for the Celtics

Plus, why Dillon Brooks relishes being the premier villain in the NBA.

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I never thought I’d care so much about a Sun Belt football team, but I’m irate that James Madison won’t be allowed to play a bowl game this year.

In today’s SI:AM:

☘️ The Celtics’ impressive win

😈 The NBA’s greatest villain

🚫 Draymond’s suspension

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Oh look, another great team from Boston

The Celtics picked up their most impressive win of the season last night in Philadelphia, beating the Sixers, 117–107, despite missing two starters.

With Jaylen Brown (illness) and Kristaps Porziņģis (knee) sidelined, Boston showed its imposing depth in beating a nearly full-strength Philadelphia team that was missing occasional starters Kelly Oubre Jr. and Nicolas Batum. Jayson Tatum led the way with 29 points, but the C’s also got significant contributions from Derrick White (27 points) and Luke Kornet (nine points and six rebounds in a season-high 19 minutes). The guy who stepped up the most, though, was Al Horford. The 37-year-old has mostly come off the bench this season after the addition of Porziņģis, but he shined last night with 14 points and eight rebounds while going 4-for-8 from deep. Most crucially, he played lockdown defense on reigning MVP Joel Embiid, limiting him to a season-low 20 points.

The loss was the second in a row for the Sixers, who dropped an in-season tournament game to the Pacers the night before. After the game Embiid acknowledged that the back-to-back was difficult while also paying the Celtics a massive compliment.

“We’re professional athletes, that’s the schedule; you just gotta do it,” Embiid said. “But yeah, tough. Especially playing Indiana twice and then on a back-to-back, playing the best team in the league, it’s tough. But no excuses.”

Are the Celtics really the best team in the league? There’s certainly an argument to be made. Boston is 9–2 this season, tied with the defending champion Nuggets for the best record. Its two losses came back-to-back on the road earlier this month to the Timberwolves and Sixers, two teams that are a combined 16–6. (It should be no surprise, then, who’s at the top of Chris Mannix’s latest NBA power rankings.)

And the numbers back up the team’s impressive record. The Celtics are among the best offensive and defensive teams in the league. They rank third in points scored per 100 possessions (120.0) and third in points allowed per 100 possessions (107.4). The difference between those numbers (a stat called net rating) is the best in the league by a wide margin.

The Celtics took some big swings this offseason, and they’re paying off so far. They traded franchise mainstay Marcus Smart as part of the package that landed Porziņģis in June and two other rotation players (and two first-round picks) in October to get Jrue Holiday. They were already one of the best teams in the league last season (they had the second-best record behind the Bucks but were ranked first in net rating) but have taken another step forward this year. Beating another top team while missing your second- and third-leading scorers establishes them as a title contender. The rest of the league should be worried about what they can do at full strength.

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The best of Sports Illustrated

Jeffery A. Salter/Sports Illustrated

• Today’s Daily Cover is Chris Mannix’s profile of Dillon Brooks, the NBA pest who’s relishing his role as the league’s greatest villain.
• Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. Cleveland plans to start rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson this week, not veteran backup PJ Walker.
• Conor Orr blasted the Browns for not having a better plan at quarterback behind the injury-prone Watson.
• It’s never too early for an NFL mock draft. Here is Luke Easterling’s first projection for the upcoming draft.
• The MMQB team made its picks for every NFL game this week, headlined by the Chiefs-Eagles showdown Monday night.
• Draymond Green was suspended five games for choking Rudy Gobert.
• Undefeated James Madison won’t be going to a bowl game after its waiver request was denied last night.
• The Panthers are changing offensive play-callers yet again.

The top five...

… things I saw yesterday:

5. All of Travis Kelce’s old tweets from when he was in college.

4. Connor McDavid’s deke that absolutely froze the goalie.

3. A vintage chase-down block by LeBron James.

2. Zach LaVine and Paolo Banchero’s trading clutch buckets in the Magic’s win over the Bulls.

1. Filip Hronek’s laser beam of a slap shot. (It was clocked at 108 mph.)

SIQ

On this day in 1996, Washington running back Corey Dillon set an NCAA record for rushing yards in a quarter. How many yards did he rack up in the opening quarter of the Huskies’ win over San Jose State?

• 121
• 155
• 187
• 222

Yesterday’s SIQ: What is the most-played rivalry in FBS football? (The first meeting of these two teams was Nov. 15, 1890, and they’ve met 132 times since.)

• Oregon–Oregon State
• Stanford-Cal
• Georgia-Auburn
• Minnesota-Wisconsin

Answer: Minnesota-Wisconsin. The Badgers and Golden Gophers have met every year since 1907, after President Theodore Roosevelt canceled the ’06 matchup (and other rivalry games) in response to a rash of severe injuries and deaths in college football. The streak was almost snapped in 2020 when a COVID-19 outbreak at Minnesota forced the game to be canceled. But the two teams rescheduled the game when the Big Ten announced the addition of a Champions Week at the end of the season.

Five other FBS rivalries have been played at least 125 times: Georgia vs. Auburn (128 times), North Carolina vs. Virginia (128), Cincinnati vs. Miami of Ohio (127), Oregon vs. Oregon State (126) and Stanford vs. Cal (125).

The four most-played series in Division I football are all FCS rivalries, led by Lehigh vs. Lafayette, which has been played 158 times. The 159th meeting between the Mountain Hawks and Leopards is Saturday. Lafayette could clinch the Patriot League championship and a spot in the FCS playoffs with a win.